Friends, Lovers or Nothing
by IrisAyumi
Summary: My first fanfic! Woohoo! Faberry. When Finn kicks Quinn out, Rachel takes her in. Only friendship in the first chapters, relationship in latter ones. Contains smut but not so much, just check the Author Notes.
1. Chapter 1: The Intruder

**Authors note:**

**So, this is, oh yes, my debut. My very first fanfic. Glee or otherwise. Introduction is short, more chapters coming up soon, I'll update chapter 2 tomorrow. Since I'm a total newbie, please, review. I'm begging here. And you know you want to. English is not my maternal language, and how correct my English is depends completely on the time I write it. Since I write most of my chapters on a time that my mind has stopped correcting my mistakes, some mistakes may be in here. I didn't check. Point them out if you feel like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, nor any music or books that I may refer to in this chapter or later ones.**

**The Intruder **

Quinn Fabray stopped at the door. Rachel Berry was practicing in the auditorium, as always when she could find a spare minute at school. How high could she go? The high F, she hit perfectly. But after that, it was difficult going up. She tried not to put too much strain on her voice, but granted herself a self-congratulatory smile when she finally hit a perfect high A. _Impressive_, Quinn thought. Rachel looked up. Crap. Busted. No wait, not busted, the Auditorium is a public place. Everyone can come here. It's just that no-one but Rachel ever does... "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have just been standing here, I just saw you practicing and thought, well, I just wanted to see how you did it. And Gleek to Gleek, you're an amazing singer, your range is really incredible, you know that?"  
"Thank you. A lifetime of practicing."

"I can see that. You're the best we've got, and I always wonder how you do it. But your performance does create some magic."

A smile broke across Rachel's face. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome." Quinn put a strand of hair behind her ear, looked down, and left.

2 days later, in the auditorium, Quinn was there before Rachel, sitting behind the piano, playing one of the few tunes she remembered from piano lessons.

"You play the piano? I had no idea! Why do I know this tune?" Rachel asked.  
Without looking up, she answered: "Of course you didn't know. You and I don't really know anything about each other. And this is Comptine d'un autre été, the theme from the movie Amélie, almost everyone who plays the piano knows how to play this." She stopped. Better get it out of the way, and though she technically didn't really need Rachel's permission, she felt like she wanted it anyway.

"Do you mind me being here, and sharing the auditorium during lunch break? Now I no longer sit with the other Cheerio's, I'd rather be here then in the cafeteria, knowing people are saying crap about me. But technically, you were here first, and I almost feel like I'm invading your space."

"Don't be ridiculous!", Rachel answered, "This is a public space, so everyone should be able to use it! And I can see where you're coming do you think I started coming here during lunch break in the first place?"  
"That's true." Quinn knew the guilt read on her face and bit her lip.

"Right," Rachel scrambled for words "Of course I don't mind sharing, it's not my room or anything, and you can just do your thing while I do mine. Sounds okay?"  
"Yeah, great"  
"So you know, carry on!"

A laugh escaped Quinn's lips. "Sure will!" and picked up Amélie again.


	2. Chapter 2: Quinn's First Slushie

**AN: As promised, next chapter, next day, still first story, still begging for reviews, and ****you**** still know you want to. Mistakes? Correct them.**

**For the stories sake, we are going to pretend that Quinn has never been slushied before this. This takes place before Sectionals, around Mattress I think, but I don't refer to any events that happen during that episode.**

**Disclaimer: And still, I do not own Glee (I'd wish, as so many others with me) and I don't own the music or books or other things I may refer to.**

**Quinn's First Slushie**

Sectionals were getting closer, and the Gleeks got closer. The closer they got as a group, the better they started to sing, and mr. Shue was supporting every team-bonding opportunity they had. Not that that was really necessary. Even the football players were all part of the Gleeks now. The awkward atmosphere between Quinn and Rachel was starting to disappear, to Quinn's relieve, now the Gleeks now had accepted her as one of them. She needed friends, everyone did, and although the Gleeks hadn't been her first choice originally, they were now. She now saw that there was no group that was more loyal and warm than Glee club. At first, she'd been uncomfortable, knowing that the nice kids she was talking now were once the object of her distase, even fearing revenge. Not that she wouldn't have deserved it. But when she realized that the Gleeks didn't blame her anymore, and had forgiven her, she started to relax, and noticed that she really enjoyed their company. It was easy liking the Gleeks, once you gave them the chance to be likeable, and being herself there seemed as natural as breathing.

However, she also got the dark side of the Glee club. She had a hard time believing how hard she'd once made life for her now-friends. Amazing, how you hardly think about what you're really doing to someone. The embarrassment, the hurt. She'd been talking to Brittany, who hadn't fallen out of grace like Quinn had, when she got slushied. It was bound to happen sometime, but she hadn't seen it coming. She ran to the bathroom, and remembered when Kurt said that the worst part wasn't the ice crystalizing in your hair, but the embarassment of slushie dripping down your face in front of the whole school to see. This was one of the now rare moments that she wished she was still a cheerleader, she wouldn't wish this on anyone. She leaned against a door and slid against it to the ground, face in her hands. That was when she had heard a toilet being flushed, and felt someone pushing against the door. She stood up quickly and saw Rachel opening the door.

"What happened?"

Quinn scoffed, but her voice broke which made it sound slightly hysterical.

"What does it look like?"  
Rachel nodded. "Your first slushie."

"You make it sound like your first kiss, braces or babysteps or something."

"It's happened to the rest of us. Even Finn had to take a slushie twice."

"I can't believe I was ever a part of that."  
"I can't believe you were a part of that either."

"I'm sure you can, you felt it yourself."  
"I know, but you now seem like a surprisingly nice girl, you know. I had no idea that this was person was inside of you, but it's amazing to see. Why were you never nice before?"  
"It's easy to get caught up in things. I didn't really think about it. Blending in is like a second nature to me, whereas you seem to be all about how unique you were."

"It has it's perks. So, you wanna get cleaned up?"  
The dripping of the slushie on the bathroom floor seemed almost noisy, as Quinn fell quiet for a second, considering to just call in sick and wallow the rest of the day. The safety of being alone was almost worth missing Glee practice, even though Sectionals were just a week away. But Rachel stretched out her hand, and she took it, noticing how soft it was.

"Wow, your hands are like satin!"

"Thank you! So much for Man-Hands, right? I'd suggest you ask Kurt for tips. He knows everything about products for your skin and hairproducts."

She should've known. Kickass Kurt. She grinned, then sobbed.

"Here, watch your make-up, it's running all over your face."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I never was such a crybaby, and suddenly I feel like I cry all the time, for reasons I hardly understand myself."  
"I know what's wrong with you. It's called being pregnant. Teen girls are already emotional basket cases, add the pressure of puberty and it's hormones to pregnacy hormones, and you get one hormonal bomb. You should be a wreck." Rachel said in a matter-of-fact like manner.  
"I probably am."  
"I think you're doing great. Have you decided what to do with the baby? Or told your parents? You'll need all the help you can get, and Finn can be very easily distracted. He'll make a great father, but I'm not sure if he'll already make a great father by 17."  
"You're right, of course. I've made an arrangement for adoption, but I'm not sure about it. I don't know what I'm going to do. I did tell my parents, but they let me know that I wouldn't have to count on them. They kicked me out of the house, I've been staying with Finn."  
She hadn't planned telling Rachel this. She hadn't planned telling anybody this.

Rachel's mouth fell open. "You have!? What a horrible family you've got! I know Finn can be a little irresponsible at times, but it's a good thing you have him. I can't believe that someone would put their own pregnant daughter out on the street!"  
"I knew something like that could happen. I know my parents. They'll probably deny now that they even have a daughter, or say that I've gone crazy. Conservative bastards!" She spit the last word out. Silence fell.

"I can feel you've done this before, getting unslushied... or something. You're really handy."  
"You're not easy, Quinn. Puck at least had his head shaved, that made it a whole lot easier."  
"You did Puck too?"  
"Well, yeah, that was when I was sortof dating him."

The bell rang.

"Do you want to go home?" Rachel asked.

"And miss Glee practice?" Quinn gave her a half-smile. "Glee's the highlight of my day, and Sectionals are in a week. I'll be fine, just go to your class."  
"I've got Spanish too, I'll wait. Mr. Shue will understand if we're late."

Quinn told herself to suck it up, if everyone else could do it and just carry on, then so could she. She remembered when Kurt 'took one for the team' and commited slushiecide. If he could just do that, she could certainly do this. She smiled at Rachel, and told her she'd be out in a sec.

When Rachel was gone, she tried to remember the last time one of her cheerleading friends had been such an example of a good friend. Listening, caring, advising, comforting. Or she just threw up a really good show. But something told her that Rachel was a very fair person. Honesty and openness seemed to beam out of the girl, and her smile was one of the most genuine Quinn had ever seen. And she was a Gleek, which spoke for itself. In another world, she could have seen herself being friends with Rachel, and for a moment she felt the weight of her history with the Gleeks press down on her. Then she checked herself in the mirror, made sure the emotions were buried safely under the surface, and hurried to Spanish.


	3. Chapter 3:Sectionals:What Happened After

**AN: Spoiler alert! If you do not know what happened during Sectionals, go, go, watch the freaking episode! Or be ready to get spoiled. Chapter 3, please review. Please?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or anything I may refer to.**

**Sectionals or What Happened After Sectionals**

A week later, it was time for Sectionals. Quinn hadn't talked like that to Rachel since the slushie-incident, which meant - thank god - that she hadn't broken down in front of her again either. But now, both were relaxed in the Auditorium. Starting to greet eachother in the hallways, smiling, making contact more, with a possibility of friendship lying right around the corner. Sectionals threatened to go wrong for a moment, but despite the cheating they rocked it and won, leaving all the Gleeks amazed at how far they'd come in this short time. All the Gleeks? No. Not all the Gleeks. Because, even though he had a big share in the win, and everyone wanted to thank and congratulate him, Finn was in an exceptionally bad mood. When he drove Quinn to his house, they both remained quiet, waiting for the other one to begin.

"So..." Quinn began, "It's great that you came back. You saved the day."  
"I didn't do it for you."  
"I didn't think so, I know I don't deserve your sympathy or anything, but..."  
"That's right. You don't. Not after what you've done. Us taking it slow, that was alright, but you just betraying what you stand for and sleeping with my best friend? I couldn't have guessed you would've done something like that. And then that bullshit about sperm liking hot water. Jeez, Quinn, were you planning on telling me ever? No really, answer that for me. When were you going to tell me? Were you going to at all?"  
"I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you. I hated keeping this from you. I've been so sorry all along"  
"Well, I guess not enough, since Rachel had to tell me instead of you or Puck."  
Quinn fell back into silence, so Finn started talking again.

"I don't know what you expected me to do when I found out..."  
"I don't know either. I didn't exactly think everything through right, or did you think this mess was all part of my master plan?" the sarcasm was ruined by the fact that her voice broke.

"It doesn't matter. I don't care anymore." He stopped the car. "I need you to get out of my house. When we get there, I want you to pack your things and leave. I don't care where you're going to go or what you're going to do. I don't care if you sleep on the street tonight, if you go to Puck, heck, go to Mrs. Pillsbury for all I care. I'll give you 30 minutes to pack your stuff and by then I want you gone. I don't want anything to do with you from this point on."

She tried to keep her head cool, but betrayal tears stung behind Quinn's eyes. But had she really expected anything else? She saw that he tried to keep it cool too, but the hurt in his eyes gave him away. She bit her lip, and told herself to suck it up.

"Fine then."

It didn't take her 30 minutes. She hadn't brought that much from her home. She threw her stuff in her bag and walked out without another look. When she was outside, she started walking, mind numb, not knowing where she was going to go. It took her 10 minutes to realize that her feet had automatically taken her back to school, the only place where she felt like she belonged. She walked on, part of her mind wondering if there maybe were still some mattresses from the commercial somewhere. Her feet took her to The Auditorium, the place that had become her safe harbor over the last weeks. The place that meant no Cheerio's, no slushies, but friends, Glee club, Rachel. She opened the door, not sure what she was thinking, when she saw the Glee club. They were still there. How much time had passed since she left this place? Not yet an hour. It seemed like an era. An era in which she had become homeless. She saw that indeed, they were all here. Even Puck. Even Mr. Shue. Everyone, accept for Finn of course. Artie saw her and said: "She's here." Everyone looked at her, to her dismay. A large part of her wanted to curl up and cry somewhere where no one could reach her. But Brittany pulled her in the circle and gave her a bear hug, and she found herself glad that they were here.  
"We wanted to be here, if something happened. We suspected that you and Finn were going to have a talk today, and we wanted to be there if you called one of us for help, or if you decided you needed the Glee club. And so we could all know what happened..." curiosity burned behind Mr. Shue's unspoken question, and Quinn answered it with: "Well, only what was to be expected. We talked. I apologized. He told me he didn't want to have anything to do with me from this point on, that he couldn't let me stay anymore and asked me to leave his house." She said it in a cool tone, as if the tone could take away a little bit of the horror of the words. But Mercedes opened her mouth. "He kicked you out?"

"I didn't even know you were staying with him. Makes sense, though..."  
"I can't believe he kicked his pregnant girlfriend out!"

"I don't think I'm exactly his girlfriend anymore."  
"What are you going to do now?"  
"Look at the girl, you think she has a clue of what she's going to do now?"

"Quinn," Puck started, "You can stay with me if you want. I can take care of you."  
His eyes were earnest, but she had had it with Finn and Puck.

"No, Puck. I told you I didn't want your interference, and I don't. I'm done with you and Finn. I'm over all the drama." The words felt like the truth to her, which made her feel better.

"You can't do this alone, Quinn." Mr. Shue sounded calm, but his eyes were burning into hers. "It's gonna get hard, and you're gonna need your friends. You are going to need Glee club. But wondering where you're going to sleep tonight, that's not a worry that a 16-year old should have. Especially not with a kid on the way. I am positive that we can help you with a roof over your head for as long as you need it..." he looked around, as if daring anyone to say they wouldn't.

"You can stay with me." Rachel said. Well, said, more like blurted out. She immediatly looked like she wanted to take it back, and an awkward silence arose.

"It's okay, Rachel. I know I haven't exactly started being normal to you guys until very recently. I won't blame you."  
"It's not that, the past is the past and that's all water under the bridge." She rolled her eyes. "But aren't you mad? I'm the one who messed this all up for you in the first place. It's not that you can't stay with me, it's that I know that I'm your very last choice."  
"No you're not. I meant what I said, you're the one who did what I couldn't do. I wasn't brave enough, but you did the job for me, and if I'm anything I'm grateful that it's out in the open. You have no idea how hard it has been, keeping this secret."  
Rachel opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "Wait. Does this mean you're staying with me?" Her eyes lit up with excitement.

Before she had a chance to answer, Mr. Shue cut in. "I think that's a wonderful idea! Rachel, since you have 2 gay dads, I guess that they're pretty open minded about things. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I like it!"  
"They are really open minded, and we have a spare room that's pretty comfortable."

Everyone looked a little doubtful at the thought of the 2 former enemies sharing a home, and as soon as she saw it, Rachel began babbling again.

"Of course, you don't have to stay with me. I'm sure that many people here have room as well, I think that there are many places you could stay, I mean, I am really different from you and we do have the horrible history together and you'd have to put up with me waking up and working out 6 AM sharp each day, and with more Broadway then you could ever really like, so don't worry, I'd totally get it if you wouldn't want to stay with me--"  
"I want to. I want to stay with you." The words were out before she knew it. She didn't remember thinking she was going to say them.

Another silence.

"So, I guess that's setteled then. Rachel, you should call your dads. Quinn, are you going to be okay?" Kurt looked at her, worried.

She gave him a look.

"Never mind that," he said, "Rachel, have you told them a bit about Quinn?"  
Rachels face turned a bright shade of red, and Quinn couldn't help but notice that flushed cheeks looked good on Rachel. But at the same time, she wondered what the blushing was all about.

"Just a little." She said, almost sounding defensive. Great.

Rachel grabbed her phone, and Quinn sat down and closed her eyes, wishing she would wake up.


	4. Chapter 4: Another Home

**AN: Yup. Quinn's living with Rachel. Random sidenote, am I just crazy or is Quinn really just an unusual name? I do like the name. I just don't know it. Anyway, you know what to do, read & review. I desperately want to know what other people think about this story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I don't own any song or book or movie that I might refer to.**

**Another Home**

While Rachel was on the phone, it finally hit Quinn a little bit what was going on, and what was going to happen.

She couldn't believe this was her life, and had to bite back once again, as so often lately. When Rachel hung up, Brittany called out: "Grouphug!", and everyone, even Artie was included, while a lone tear escaped Quinn's eye, and a soft sob broke through. Tina squeezed her hand, and they walked outside, where a not so tall but muscular afro-american man with glasses, very white teeth and a Rachelesque smile was leaning against the car.  
"His name is Samuel. At home, you'll meet Jim too." She put on her brightest smile and gave her dad a short hug.

"Hey dad! This is Quinn."

"It's very nice to finally meet you, Quinn. I've heard so much--" Rachel stepped - ever so slightly -on the toes of her father. "Never mind. My name is Samuel, a dad of Rachel's." He chuckled.

20 minutes later, they pulled up into Rachel's driveway.

"Let's begin by setting you in your room." She scooped up the bag and went in the house.

She was walking so fast that Quinn had a hard time keeping up. The stairs were the first thing she saw in the hallway and Rachel was already halfway on them. The first thing she noticed was the strong scent of cinnamon. It was very warm and there was a lot of wood, white and dark red, giving the place a homey feeling. She followed Rachel up the stairs. The lights were on, she felt like she'd lost track of time. Like there were more then 24 hours in this day. But it was dark outside, so at least the evening had begun. She saw Rachel lingering in a doorway at the end of the hall upstairs, giving her a very friendly smile. She pointed at a closed door on her right. "That's my room. My bathroom is on your left, you're going to have to share that with me. And this is where you'll be staying." The door opened, and a pretty large room with dark purple walls was behind it. Some boxes in the way of a comfy looking bed. Not that big, but a lot of blankets and it looked very inviting to Quinn. Especially right now. "Do you need a minute?" Rachel asked.

She did. She needed to process this, she still felt the hurt, not yet cried out, pressing against her heart, wanting to break through. The longer she put this off, the harder it was going to be. But it would be hard anyway, and she wanted to have time. She'd wait till it was time to go to sleep, then she'd think things through right. "Nah, I'm fine."  
"Fine." Rachel scoffed.

"You know what I mean."  
"Ready for the Grand Tour?"

"Sure, I want to see your room!"

Rachel gave her another dimply bright-eyed smile, radiating joy and excitement that seemed almost random to Quinn.

"Alright, here it is!" She opened her door.

Quinn felt the need for sunglasses.

"Wow. It's really..." she thought about it. "Bright."

"Don't tell me you expected some plain white or brown room or something."  
"No, I know you better than that." She laughed a little, and she loved that it felt like a real laugh.

"That's just what I mean." Rachel seemed to be glad to see her laugh.

The room really was that bright and colorful. Every inch screamed Rachel. The cinnamon was replaced with lavender, and suddenly saw about 10 scents of roomspray on a shelf by the wall. She smiled and shook her head.

"It fits you perfectly."

"It's very important to have your room decorated corresponding with your personality. It is after all the one place where you truly don't have to hide, so you should take adventage and express yourself as much as you can."  
Quinn nodded vaguely, and thought of her bland old room, with the painting of Jesus on the walls.

Rachels bed looked huge. Like you could drown in it. A large mirror. A lot of shelves. A cd player, pink.

Yes. Very Rachelesque indeed.

They went downstairs. Delicious smells out of the kitchen making the place even more homey. More wood in the livingroom, 2 very large windows and a bright red couch. A table with 4 matching seats. A very tall man radiating friendliness walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands clean on his apron before he shook Quinn's hand. "Hi, I'm Jim, Rachel's dad. My guess is that you must be Quinn?"  
"I am, it's nice to meet you." Her voice came out quieter than she'd wanted it to be. Jim exchanged a short look with Samuel, but looked back in almost the same instant, granting her a wide smile that broke through the same way like she knew Rachel's did. "We are very happy to have you here! If you girls excuse me now, I'm going to make sure that the food won't burn." He swiftly walked back to the kitchen, and Samuel followed him.

"So... those are your dads?"  
"Yes, those are them." Her eyes turned soft, making them less shiny but more warming.

In a short instance, Rachel grabbed Quinn's hand and squeezed it softly before letting it go again, but not before Quinn marveled at the softness, and was shocked when she found her mind wondering if the rest of her skin was that soft as well. It certainly looked like that.

Yup. Definitely so much for Man-Hands.

She'd expected the significant smile, but found Rachel eyes turned to the ground, and didn't know what to think.

They heard something ringing, and Jim yelled: "Food!" from the kitchen. Quinn cocked an eyebrow up.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Dad, could you try to act normal until Quinn knows you better?"

"I'll try." He laughed. "Go on, take your seats then!"

At dinner, Rachel mostly talked about the fact that they'd rocked Sectionals, and the cheating of course. Letting Rachel ramble about how far they'd come, she took a better look at the dads. It was weird to see them together, like a real couple. She wasn't used to 2 guys in love, but the loving radiated from them and she liked how it gave her a feeling of openness. She however also saw Samuel looking at her like he was forming his opinion about her, sizing her up, almost. She wondered what Rachel had told her fathers about her. When she came back from the bathroom, she heard a short conversation.  
"So, this is her, then?" Jim asked.  
"If you mean 'is this Quinn' then yes, this is the same Quinn that I told you about once or twice. It's not exactly a regular name."  
"Once or twice." Samuel made a noise inbetween scoffing and snorting. "Right. Once or twice. But my guess is that Jim didn't mean that. You know what we want to know, Rachel. Why have you been acting so strange lately? You've been quiet a lot, especially for you, and talking a lot about this girl when you weren't. And you've been spending less time down here. You've never been like this, locking yourself up in your room so much..."  
"Puberty." Rachel reacted without a trail of doubt. "None of my friends talk that much to their parents nowadays. It's normal, I'm just becoming more normal. It comes with puberty, you can Google it." When she walked in, she saw that Rachel looked a little nervous, but only for someone who looks really close, and Samuel and Jim exchanging a speculative look, but they quickly recovered and were talking small talk again.


	5. Chapter 5: When The Night Came

**AN: Yeah, this title sounds exciting, doesn't it? Sorry people, no sex involved. Hahah. Anyway, read, review, as I'm sure you do best!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, I don't own whatever I may refer to.**

**When The Night Came**

When the night came, Quinn went to her room, and saw that someone had already turned the heater on, making it a comfortable temperature.

Rachel told her goodnight and closed the door, leaving Quinn sitting on the bed, processing the day. She looked at the few possessions that she brought, the only things that felt real in this almost dream-like world. Finn and Quinn were over, forever. About this, she didn't really feel sad. She felt bad for hurting him as she had, but the deep feelings had left her heart a while ago, if they were ever truly there. She had a hard time remembering now. It had just felt like the right thing to do, the cheerleader and the quarterback. Captain of the football team and captain of the Cheerio's. It had seemed like there was almost no other way than them becoming a couple. She missed that time. Hardly could imagine what was going to happen now at school, when people were going to find out about Puck. She had lost her celibatory image with the pregnancy, but hadn't been a tramp, it was normal to have sex with your boyfriend at this age. Rachel had been right about that.

Even though she and Finn had never actually had sex. But now with the cheap thing, of getting pregnant with your boyfriend's best friend, this wasn't going away easily. Or maybe not even at all. Homeless. Pregnant. Alone. Her baby going to Mr. Shue and his weird wife.

What happened to popular, Cheerio, on talking terms with her parents, a boyfriend who cared for her, friends... that pregnancy messed it all up.

She put her head in her hands as she felt the weight of today creep into her heart, until the hurting and uncertainty felt like they were having her heart in a chokehold, and her eyes filled with tears. Naturally. She didn't wipe them away, knowing it was no real use, and glad that she could get everything out without an audiance. She did realize she'd been wrong about being alone. She had a hard time believing it, but the Glee kids really were her friends. All of them. Even the girl in the room next to hers. She never would have guessed that one, being friends with Rachel Berry. The grip on her heart eased a little at these thoughts. The thoughts of real friends, who, if they weren't gonna abandon her now, probably would stand by her in anything she'd ever have to go through. This would do a good job at worst-case scenario. She sat there on the bed for a while. Hoping that at a certain point, her mind would go into sleeping-mode. It would take a while. She was glad she was alone for the moment. When the hysterical feeling of panic eased a little, and she could control herself a little bit, she heard a knock on the door. She waited for the person to come in, but suddenly realized he/she was waiting for a reaction, so she gave the door a soft "Come in" and quickly wiped her tears away, hoping that she would keep her grip on them. Rachel's head peeped around the door, and she walked in carrying some water.

"I figured that anyone would be hysterical after a day like yours, so I just wanted to check on you. And get some new fluid in you, since you'd probably have been crying." Pause. "If you want to be alone, I definitely would get it."  
"No, don't leave!" Quinn whispered, sounding a tad more desperate than even she knew she felt, shocking both herself and Rachel, who quickly recovered and closed the door. "I won't, then. I've got time. I'm not going to leave until you ask me to." She sat beside her, not a few inches apart.  
"No you don't. You like your sleep."  
"I do, but I can sleep later."  
"We've got school."  
"No we don't. It's Christmas eve in a few days, we've got winter break."

She'd forgotten. A weight like the world fell of her shoulders. She could postpone it. She wouldn't have to deal with all this until another 2 weeks.

Relief washed over her and she sighed.

"Here, you should have some water."  
Thankful she took the glass and took a few sips, the cold water felt good in her throat.

A pause, but not awkward. She put down the glass, some important questions needing to be asked in her mind.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"  
"You're living here now. I'm not going to be mean to you."

"You haven't got a reason to be nice to me, but I've given you many a reason to hate me. Yet..."  
"I don't hate you. Hate doesn't bring anything positive to the table. It has use nor purpose, and I don't get anything out of hating you."

Wow. Good answer. Had she ever met someone so pure? She didn't stop to think about it, she wanted to ask some other things.

"Why did you tell Finn?"  
"Seriously, Quinn?"  
"Just say it."  
"Because you were lying to him, it wasn't fair, and he deserved to know."  
Quinn waited, looking Rachel in the eyes.

"Just say it."  
"Say what?"  
"You know what."  
She turned her eyes to the ground.

"Yes, alright? Fine. Yes. Part of me was trying to break you guys up. It did play a role. But I meant the other things as well!"

"I know you like him. And I know he likes you too," she added. "I guess you can go after him now, you've got my permission, not that you need that." She said with a bitter laugh.

"Right. I like Finn. Right," Rachel muttered softly.

"Why did you let me stay with you?"  
"Why not?"  
"I asked you first."  
"You needed a place to stay. I felt the need to help."

Quinn smiled and shook her head. "Are you just such a caring person, or am I a special case because I treated you like shit?"

Rachel smiled too. "Maybe both." She touched her arm slightly.

"I hope we can be friends, Quinn. I know you're not as bad as you've been pretending to be. You're a good person."  
"You don't know that. I've done nothing but bad things that you know about. Treating all of my now friends like crap, betraying my boyfriend by sleeping with his best friend, spying on Glee. I wouldn't want to be my friend."  
"I do. You're better than you give yourself credit for. You're a wonderful singer, you're very charming if you're not pretending to be something else."  
"Charming, huh?" She laughed out loud at that comment.

"Why did you think everyone at Glee club forgave you that fast? You charmed them. You charmed all of us."

A pause, Quinn letting this sink in.

"Do you think I am dishonest, or ingenuine, Quinn?"  
"Oh god no. Your honesty is almost annoying."  
"What did you read in my eyes when I looked into yours singing Keep Holding On?"

Quinn choked up at the memory, and stuttered something incomprehensible.

"No, really, tell me, I want to know. What did you feel from all of us? What did you feel when I was holding your hand?"

Her dark brown eyes were pressuring Quinn for an answer, and Quinn felt like she was reliving the moment.

The compassion had almost been too much, the emotion of the song fresh in her mind. It had been one of those special moments. They had sung the song to her. She remembered Kurts smile, telling her he was there. She remembered the emotions in everyones voices. Finn's honest eyes. Rachel's eyes, telling her that she was going to be there when it got hard. Now it had gotten to that point, and Rachel had kept the silent promise. She remembered the small quiver she'd felt when Rachel took her hand. The softness, the caring, she'd known the hand was Rachel's by just the touch. The thoughts of the memory reflected on her face.

"You see?" Rachel whispered. "I care! We care. That feeling you got during that song, that's the truth. That's the reality. That's why I'm letting you stay with me. That's why everyone at Glee club would have done the same within the blink of an eye. We want you to be okay."

Tears had come to Quinn's eyes again, she wiped them away before they had a chance of spilling over, and took another sip of water.

Rachel took both her hands in a reminder of the silent promise. She was going to be there, whenever Quinn would want her too.

Quinn wanted her too, and didn't move, afraid that she would somehow send off a signal that would make Rachel release the grip on her hands. She didn't want to lose this feeling, this feeling of friendship, this comforting touch, this small, extraordinary girl letting her know that she was not alone.

So they sat there. Rachel glad that she'd gotten through to the blonde, Quinn reveling in the, for her, rare vibe of true friendship.

Rachel opened her mouth after what seemed 3 eternities at least. "It's 2 AM."  
"What?"  
"It's 2 AM."  
Wow. Today had lasted forever. She did feel like she could fall asleep now. The weight of the long, long day was beginning to translate to fatigue. She yawned.

"That's what I meant." Rachel smiled. "Maybe sleeping won't be the worst idea?"  
"Probably not." She went to lie down. Rachel stood up.

"You're standing up?" There was that weird feeling again. That despair at the thought of Rachel leaving, of being alone again. It was really pathetic. At least this time, it didn't sound in her voice too much.  
"Bright girl, Quinn. I need my beauty sleep as well, you know."

She bit her lip. "I thought I got your promise? You know. Not leaving until I ask you too. I don't remember me asking you to go away."  
She felt like an idiot, but Rachel's curious look immediatly flowed into a peaceful smile.

"You're right. What do you want?"  
"I know what I don't want. I don't want to be alone."  
Rachel ran her hands through her hair, and a sleepy Quinn noticed that it looked pretty sexy.

More sexy than someone in yellow PJ's with bears on them should ever be able to look.

Oh, and more sexy than a girl should ever look to her.

"Shall I stay with you, then?" A smile, like she honestly didn't mind.

Quinn's eyes send out a silent plea. Rachel sat by her, and gave her a warm hug. A real hug, not a fake one that you give your frenemy. But nothing about Rachel was fake, so of course her hugs wouldn't be either. Only the whole Rachel seemed a little irreal. Strange. Someone really... honest... nice... pure and good...her thoughts trailed off. Rachel ran her fingers over Quinn's back, and through her hair as well. Mixed feelings ran through Quinn, but she didn't look long enough to acknowledge them, because it was just the sleep. The long day. This weird talk, this weird moment.

Rachel released her, but kept her hand on Quinn's arm.

"Yeah, maybe you should stay. You know, in case I'll freak out again and lose it for real this time..."  
Rachel laughed. Was that a trail of nervousness she spotted? But it was all out of Rachel's voice when she spoke, so she must've imagined it.

"That's alright. I'm glad you asked. It's been a... well... a fucked up day, really. I'll stay. I'm not sure if I could sleep either anyway. Weird day..."

She looked vaguely at nothing in particular.

"I'll turn off the lights. Alright?"  
"That would be great..." Quinn's voice was so soft, she doubted if Rachel had heared it.

And it was dark. She felt a weight at the edge of the bed. Her body felt hyperaware when she felt Rachel's body heat, and the hot breath against her neck, but relaxed when Rachel put her arm over hers. It felt so strange, being this close to a girl, but as she slipped into unconsciousness, her last thought was that she probably wouldn't have been able to sleep or calm down in any other situation than exactly this.


	6. Chapter 6: Settling Down

**AN: So... in this chapter... nothing really happens. Nothing exciting at least. Sorry, I just saw the scene happening in front of my eyes and I had to write it down. Read and review anyway? :D**

**Disclaimer: Still, unfortunately, not owning Glee, not owning books or music or whatever I might refer to.**

**Settling Down**

Quinn woke up. Wow. 11 AM. This was the first time in years she'd slept in, she was at her best in the evening and at night, her favorite time a day, but her parents had insisted on her going to bed early. Someone well-rested is someone ready for the day, they'd said. Why had she gone to sleep late last night anyway?.

Suddenly her mind really woke up too, realizing she was in an unknown bed, in an unknown room. The memories felt like a smack in the face.

She quickly rolled over, to see an empty spot where Rachel had been the night before. The spot was still a little bit warm though, and almost felt like it had Rachel's scent on it. Not that she knew what Rachel smelled like. She heared some kind of noise a few rooms away, walked to the door, and saw Rachel working out. Of course Rachel had a tight work-out regime, she was perfectly in shape, she had such an impeccable shape, she could even compete with the old Quinn. Quinn had found herself borderline boulimic/anorexic sometimes, and part of her was suddenly scared for Rachel. Nah, Rachel was smarter than that. Surely. Her stomach growled. Oh, right, it was 11 o' clock, it was time to eat something. Breakfast...uhm...brunch. She stretched her entire body, and touched the little bump between her hips softly, then went down the stairs, skipping past Rachel. She'd talk to Rachel when she wouldn't be interrupting. She saw Samuel in livingroom. He immediatly stood up, and she wished he wouldn't.

"Quinn, you're awake!"  
"Yeah, it's about time. I never sleep in, not usually anyway."  
"Would you like me to make you something to eat?"  
"If you could just show me the way, I'll get myself something."  
"Nonsense!" He smiled. "I'll make you some eggs. Make yourself at home." He chuckled and went in the kitchen.

She gave the room a good look for the first time now. She felt remarkably comfortable for the circumstances, and walked to the bookcase.

Impressive collection. Only weird how many books about teeth were in there... it looked very medical. She'd have to ask about that.

She picked out "Youth in Revolt" with a smile. On a vacation 2 years ago she'd read it, when she was the same age as the protagonist.

It always had felt like she hadn't had enough time for reading, not with having a boyfriend, a busy social life, cheerleading and school. Reading had come after all that, so she'd never given it priority, even though she loved reading. Maybe now she'd have time. Jim walked in, nodded, and said: "Goodmorning, Quinn."  
"Hi Jim!" She smiled at him.

"Looking at the books, I see?"  
"Yeah, I really like your collection!" Suddenly she remembered her question.

"What's up with all the books about teeth though?"  
"Samuel is a dentist."  
She should've thought of that. Rachel had a flawless smile. In the house of a dentist mouth hygiene would be very important.

"Yes, her smile is beautiful, isn't it?"

"What?" Was he in er mind of something!?

"The 'figures' is written all over your face. Rachel pays a lot of attention to her smile, she's got over a dozen camera-ready smiles, practiced in the mirror until she'd reached perfection." He shook his head, smiling. "I still like her natural smile the most, though. But yes, Rachel has been taught that dental care is extremely important. Resulting in nice teeth, and adding to her smile. I imagine you must have noticed that, since you know Rachel pretty well."  
"It's hard to miss. And...well, I don't really know Rachel that well. We've never been...really friends or something."  
"Are you sure? I saw you guys last night sleeping, when I was checking where Rachel was, and you looked like you were close to me!"  
She swallowed, not sure how to answer that. "Last night was... a little different," she decided on. It sounded incomplete, but would do just fine.

"And beside that, Rachel has been mentioning you almost daily for quite a while now."  
"She has!? What has she been saying about me? Pregnant, cheating on her boyfriend, total bitch, something along that line?"

"Not quite, she always says that she wishes she knew you better. I'm not sure how you did it, but you almost seem to have brought out the self-conscious in Rach, or maybe she's just intimidated. I know that she's a little scared to really talk to you, she's sure you don't like her."  
"Oh...why are you telling me this?"  
"Because I believe you need to know, that she's more than willing to be your friend. And I would grab her hand if I were you."

Samuel walked in, carrying a plate of very tasty looking eggs, and she felt her stomach growl again.

"Brunch for the blonde!" He grinned, and she took the plate with a thankful look, and sat down when Rachel came through the door.

She looked sweaty, eyes bright from all the exercise, greeted everyone and grabbed a bottle of Aquarius from the refigurator.

It looked like it could serve as an ad.

She skipped back in the room and went to sit next to Quinn. Hmm.

Still having problems getting used to no space between them. The body heat was now of course doubled at the very least, and Quinn felt her heat like she was touching her.

"So, what do you want to do today?"  
"I don't know...what do you usually do?"  
"It depends. I often do a movie on Saturday, I feel like Wicked today, how 'bout you?"  
Broadway musicals, how very Rachelesque. While she was here, she was going to have to put up with them anyway, might as well try to enjoy it.

"Sure. I've never seen it. I know that Defying Gravity comes from it. Didn't it have something to day with the Wizard of Oz?"  
"What do you mean, you've never seen it?"  
"It means, darling," Jim started, "that Quinn here has lots and lots of catching up to do! There is no way you are leaving this house without basic knowledge of Broadway musicals and history!"  
And well, there wasn't. The rest of the day flew by, watching Wicked and talking to Rachel and her dads.

When the night came, she almost felt at home.


	7. Chapter 7: How Close You Can Get

**AN: I feel like one of those Cribs-losers, saying "and this is where the magic happens!" hahah! So yeah, from this point on things are going fast, probably. Since also my free time is over and school is desperately trying to get my attention (Iris, Iris, notice me!) I might not update daily anymore, as I have to this point on. I'll desperately try to update everyday, but I might not make it anymore. Read. Review. You can even review it again if you want to. "I can?" "Yes, you can."**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or songs or movies or books or musicals or anything else that I refer to.**

**How Close You Can Get**

The vacation was a good vacation. It was very strange, spending the holidays away from home, but Jim and Samuel had welcomed her as one of her own, surrounding her with a sense of family. And she felt herself growing closer to Rachel, becoming best friends with the girl she'd once thought of as her total opposite. She'd gotten used to the rambling, the Broadway, the non-stop singing, to everything. And she'd come to like it, to her own surprise. Sharing and talking with Rachel felt natural. Quinn wasn't used to best friends, not in the way that you can talk and laugh with them, but also be honest, be yourself. They could talk about make-up, she could complain about her pregnancy disadvantages, about movies or lack of her Broadway knowledge. She even started liking musicals more, she'd watched Singing In The Rain a million times when she was little, and her old love for musicals was beginning to come back. Now that she thought about it, many things she'd abandoned from her life were growing on her again. The love for books and musicals, her desire to play the piano again. They hung out with the other Glee kids, who didn't seem to notice that Rachel and Quinn were growing closer, probably because they all were growing closer. Jamming, laughing, hanging out. Kurt was the only one who seemed to notice that Rachel and Quinn were always together now, judging by the strange looks and the obvious whispering with Mercedes. But they were such Gossip Girls, searching for drama that wasn't there. It was just good right now. Better than she'd ever thought it could be in this situation. It felt good, being part of something. Especially, since she knew that they were glad to have her aboard, like she'd told Coach Sylvester with the whole photograph thing.

She was starting to get used to having Rachel around her. Somehow, the many of the annoying things, turned around and became cute twitches. The rambling, the cheerfulness, the over-hugging, the always planning, it was typical Rachel, and as she came to care for Rachel, she came to like even those typical things. A bit like when she'd first found Finn dumb, but when she decided that they'd make the perfect couple, part of her thought that dumbness could be cute. Now those thoughts were all thrown out the window, of course. Although she honestly could not remember a moment where she wanted to like Rachel's annoying quirks. But now she had come to like them anyway. She'd come to like the whole Rachel. From the dark hair to the short but well-proportioned body, and from the voice that brought quivers to everyone to the determination that she beamed. The now familiar brown eyes, the feeling that Rachel always seemed to be very warm, the words that never were ingenuine, nothing was ever ingenuine. No action, no touch, not a single thing. And she liked it so much, she was glad that she was becoming closer to Rachel than she'd ever been to anyone else before, only wanting to get closer.

Only, when she thought of it (a thought she mostly tried to avoid), she wasn't sure how close you could come to a person. Nor how close she really wanted to be. She wasn't sure where it was going to lead to...

She found out on New Year's Eve. After chatting with the fathers for a while, they went upstairs. Quinn sat down on Rachel's bed, almost out of habit, so they could chat a little longer too, but in private.

"The new year has begun!"  
"I know. It's gonna be a weird one."  
"Isn't every year a weird one? Just because we're weird?" Quinn laughed, at feeling pride when she'd called herself weird. Who'd have guessed? Quinn Fabray, misfit with pride.

"You're probably right. Still. I'm curious how it's going to be in 365 days from now. By then, you'll have had that little girl in there."  
"And I will totally be back in shape. First thing I'm gonna do when I'm out of the delivery room is find a gym."  
"You're not showing that much yet, Quinn. And when you will, I'm positive that you'll still be gorgeous."  
Gorgeous. She couldn't help but blush a little at Rachel's compliment. Rachel complimented her too much sometimes.

"Of course, it's going to have it's downsides too."  
"No longer having a life growing inside of me? Where are the downsides?"  
"Well, you'd see it as an upside. No longer pregnant, there's a real chance you could get back on the Cheerio's and take your rightful place as Quinn Bee again..."

"I very seriously doubt that. They're not gonna want me back. Things have changed."  
"Ever heared 'the more things change, the more they stay the same'?"  
"Maybe, but I have changed, and by that I mean my core has changed. Glee club has changed everything. Becoming friends with you has changed me."  
"I don't think you've changed."  
"Once a bitchy cheerleader, always a bitchy cheerleader?"  
"I think that this girl was inside you all along. I just think you've never been forced to get her out of her cage until now. And now she's here, and despite everything, and all the horrible moments you've had to go through, I don't think I've ever seen you genuinely happy before you lost that spot."

She contemplates this, and knows that at least a core of truth was in there.

"I think that you're probably right..."  
"Of course I am!" A bright smile lit up the dark brown eyes in front of her, making them shine a little. Making them, and her, even more beautiful, if that was even possible. She felt the need to touch Rachel, to cup her face, but instead went for a short squeeze in Rachel's hand.

Strange thoughts flickered through her head, no strangers to her head, but she shook them off as she always did when her mind went that way. Only this night, they came back instantly, like she'd never pushed them away, making it hard to concentrate. She tried to focus on something else, anything else, but saw that her thoughts kept pulling back to Rachel in ways that were... dubious, to say the least. She gritted her teeth, and let herself fall on Rachel's bed. Rachel layed herself down next to her, a sweet, fresh fragrance, the way she always smelled, making a way up through her nose. Not helping. More teeth gritting.

"What's wrong, Quinn?" She asked in a concerned voice, putting her hand on Quinn's side and motioned herself a little closer to Quinn.

She didn't know the answer to that herself, so she just twisted her head a little and looked right into Rachel's eyes, closer than they'd ever been, and felt her heart jump. They were lying chest to chest, and she felt Rachel's heartbeat quicken along with her own. Rachel must have felt it too, but neither of them commented.

She closed her eyes and waited for the moment to pass, but when she opened her eyes, Rachel seemed to be even closer than before. Quinn bit her lip, and saw Rachel wettening her lips slightly. The part of her mind that was still lucid, had a hard time comprehending what she felt. What was happening. She took a chance, and moved her face closer to Rachel, who did the same thing. Their lips were almost touching. And then she did it, ever so slightly, closed that last distance and moved her lips to Rachel's, so shortly, so lightly it could have been by accident. Only everthing else screamed that it hadn't been one. Rachel's hand moved, going up, and eventually grabbing the back of Quinn's neck, pulling Quinn down more, so that she could reach Quinn and kiss her.

It was for real this time, and was very different from Finn or Puck. Everything about Rachel was just so very soft. Her lips, her hands, her touch, her face, her body. Rachel was a very passionate girl, but Quinn never had imagined how passionate a kissing Rachel would be. She should have guessed, after that incident at the celibacy club, that Rachel wasn't one for a safe kiss. Not after "girls want sex too", and Quinn felt herself get lost in the moment, tangling her fingers in Rachel's brown hair, feeling like every inch of her body was on fire. Along with her insides. Rachel stopped the kiss, gasping for air.

"Quinn, why did you join the celibacy club? Nothing celibate about that kiss it seems!"  
She looked into Rachel's dark brown eyes again. She saw they were even darker now, and grinned.

A strange sense of euphory came over her. It felt a bit like whenever she'd master a really difficult move with the Cheerio's.

Like she'd finally gotten what she wanted.

Had she wanted this? Rachel grabbed her hand and led it to her chest. She swallowed audibly when her hand reached the burning chest.

"Do you feel that?" she asked, and Quinn knew what she meant, her heart was racing like crazy.

"Wow, your heart's going really fast, Rach!"  
"Isn't yours?" Without waiting, she put her hand on Quinn's chest, who's heart - incredibly enough - stepped the pace up even more.

"See? Yours is pumping too."

"Your fault." Quinn muttered under her breath, and Rachel blushed a little, visibly very delighted with that fact. Quinn went in for another kiss and Rachel responded enthusiastically. This went on for a while. Around 3 AM, Rachel started yawning, so she asked if it was alright if they went to sleep.  
"Sure, sure," Quinn spoke quickly and started moving around, standing up. "I'll just...eh..."  
A very sleepy Rachel grabbed her hand.  
"Don't leave, alright? Just stay here..."  
She tangled her fingers with Quinn's and pulled her back down. Quinn made herself comfortable, hugged Rachel close, and after whispering goodnight Rachel was asleep. Quinn stared at the adorable sleeping girl for some time, unable to resist the temptation to plant a small kiss on her delicate face. She felt the need to sleep pressing against her eyelids as well. A last thought: _this is how it ought to be_. Then she fell asleep, Rachel still in her arms.


	8. Chapter 8: Aftermath

**AN: I'm beginning to get faith that I might be able to post daily after all. Thanks for the reviews, it's the best to come home and see that someone took the time to review your story! Here's chapter 8, the titel pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it? Hope you like it. Read, review, you know :)**

**Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, I don't own Glee.**

**Aftermath**

The next morning, Quinn was first awake, with the smell of vanilla - fragrance of the moment - and Rachel fresh up her nose. Oh. Because Rachel actually was pretty much up her nose. The small brunette had tangled herself with Quinn in every way possible, and was - un-Rachellike - still asleep, even though it was past 10 o' clock. She closed her eyes, and let the memories sink in. Then she remained there, arm around the girl curled up against her, enjoying the situation and position more than she could have imagined before. She eventually started straddling Rachel a bit, and suddenly felt relieved that she could touch Rachel without her knowing. Only to be caught of guard by a sudden but very fierce desire to take it further. She froze. She had never been this close to Rachel before last night, not physically, not even though Rachel was a hyper-huggy person. _Clear your mind, Quinn. Get a grip._ Good. She felt Rachel stir, and pictured an awkward waking-up scene. Hm. She decided to untangle herself from Rachel, and headed downstairs for breakfast. Samuel looked up from his paper.

"Quinn! I expected Rachel down here first... you're not going to tell me she's still asleep, are you?"

"Well, yeah, actually she is."

"Wow...this may very well be her record...I can't remember the last time she woke up after 9. You girls must have made it quite a night!"

_Don't blush. Don't blush._

"Oh, well, not really that much, you know, just, just talking and stuff, I mean, you know, talking, and then we fell asleep. I'm not really sure at what time we fell asleep but I don't think it was quite that late, since we didn't really do anything when we were upstairs, not that much time could have passed... you know. Except talking of course. A little. And sleeping." She put on a fake smile, but it was too obvious.

_Rambling. Way to go Quinn. So much better than blushing._

Samuel gave her a weird look, eyebrows cocked up, but recovered and offered her some pancakes. She sat down and was about to take her first bite, when she heard a noise up the stairs. _Oh crap. She's awake. Of course she is, it's Rachel. Alright, no awkwardness. No need to be nervous so don't be. What if she had noticed the straddling thing? No, she must have been asleep, right? And so what, I mean, they had made out, so who cares? Oh my god, they had made out. _The door opened. Rachel, looking lovely as ever, with a bedroomy peaceful look in her eyes until she saw Quinn and tensed right up. Quinn felt like you could touch the atmosphere between them. Like the air between them was so thick with the weight of the moment that she couldn't breathe it in. Sam didn't seem to notice - how could he not notice air suddenly becoming unbreathable? - and Rachel went to sit at the table.

"Pancakes, hon?"  
"S-sure." Why did Rachel's voice sound a little hoarse?

"You sure did sleep in. Can't remember the last time you slept that long. Although, I can't say that, since I don't know what you girls have been up to last night! It is incredibly late for you, what did you girls do?"  
"N-nothing much. Just talked and slept and stuff." Never mind the hoarseness! Since when did she have that stutter? Maybe it went magically from Tina to Rachel? Maybe Rachel was just as nervous...

Sam looked up, slightly alarmed.

"Are you alright? I swear to God, Quinn just gave me the first ramble I'd ever heard from her, and you're acting very strange as well! Do we have Freaky Friday situation on our hands, ladies?"  
Laughter. Too nervous. Oh god, what a disaster, she should have stayed upstairs, get this out of the way without an audience.

"No worries, daddy, just a little tired, that's all!"  
"Even after all that sleep?"  
"Would you stop fishing for something that's not there!"

"Alright, alright! Relax, I'll stop asking, I probably don't want to know anyway, judging by your reaction."

Rachel finished her breakfast in record time - throwing away her strict rules about how eating quickly was bad for you, and how you should pay attention to breakfast, the most important meal of the day - and was up within 10 minutes.

Quinn had decided to keep her eyes fixed on her plate, hoping to give away as little as possible.

"You know what's going on, don't you? You're not yourself either."  
"I do." No use lying. "But I'm not going to tell you. Especially not now."  
"That's alright."

She went to her room then too, sat down on her bed. She heard the door downstairs open, and recognized Jim's footsteps. She guessed Sam must be explaining him that Rachel and Quinn just went crazy or something. That something was going on. She didn't know what was going on herself.

Did she love Rachel? Duh. Of course. Rachel was the best friend she'd ever had. She loved being friends with Rachel, the talking, the hugging, you know, as friends.

Did she think of Rachel as beautiful? Well yes, but only a blind person would deny _that_. A nagging part of her mind kept coming back to that kiss. That very real kiss. At that moment, she'd wanted it. Being more than just friends. And she'd wanted it badly. That kiss, that wasn't friendly love, that was in love. Could she give it a shot? Now that this was out there, could they put it back in? She didn't even know if she wanted to. She had thought of Rachel like this before, but more like involuntary flashes. Not really contemplating what might be. Because it never would be, she'd never seen it as an option. But it definitely was now. If she was completely honest with herself, counting all the thoughts she'd stuffed away without even looking at them, could she want this?

Yes. No doubt. Doubt that it would last, doubt that it would work, but no doubt that being with Rachel as a... romantic couple was definitely worth a shot. She should try it...being boyfriend-girlfriend... girlfriend-girlfriend - that would take way a while to get used to - and if it didn't work out, hopefully risking their friendship as little as possible. But that was only if she could get Rachel to do it. Maybe for her it had been nothing more than just a kiss. Brittany and Santana weren't in love either. If Rachel didn't have feelings of that sorts for Quinn... _well, nothing lost then, still best friends, nothing lost, nothing changed _she told herself. But hopefully she'd agree...

Footsteps on the stairs. Jim. He knocked on Rachel's door, and she held her breath. She knew that she could hear anything if she wanted to, and her curiosity was burning with what Rachel might say next.

Knock knock.

"Quinn?"  
"No, Jim."

"Dad, please, I wanna be left alone."

_Don't listen to her_, Quinn encouraged silently.

He didn't listen to her. Instead, he opened the door.

"Not now! I don't want to talk!"

"I do, Rachel. Please."

"No."  
"Rachel."  
"Dad."  
"Rachel."  
"No!"  
"Is it something with Glee club?"  
"Not really."  
"Are you having boy-trouble?"  
"I'm not."  
"Something with Quinn? Sam said she was acting weird as well. Something about an awkward moment, and she rambled to him."  
It had been hard to miss.

"I wish I would have seen _that_."  
"Did you two get into a fight?"  
"No."  
"What then?"  
Silence. Quinn pictured Rachel, sitting on her bed, face reluctant and doubtful.

He asked, in a tone so soft that Quinn could hardly hear it above her loudly beating heart:  
"Did you kiss?"  
"Yes. How did you figure?" Rachel's voice sounded an octave high thanks to the surprise.  
"Well, since a while before she came here you've been mentioning her a lot. At the cost of mentioning the boyfriend, Finn. You've been talking about her everyday, always saying that you wanted to be friends with her but didn't know how, and how you wanted to help her. Beside that, we are not blind. I've seen how you stare at her, Rachel. It looks like Sam and I may have realized before you, but it's clear that you have feelings for her. Do you know what's going to happen now?"

Whoa. That long? She'd been thinking more and more about Rachel too, but that was no more than logical. But this hadn't just appeared out of the blue, a seed had been there. She knew her feelings for Rachel went deep, but she had never taken a look inside to see how deep they really went. Could it be that this had been coming all along? That if not last night, it would have happened another night? She knew the answer to that. Yes. It could.  
"I don't know. This morning, I woke up in her arms, and she was caressing me. It felt so good, I thought I was still dreaming."  
Oh. So she had been awake. But at least she'd enjoyed it.

"Wait, if she slept here, did you girls..."  
"No, pervert!"  
Quinn was glad no-one could see her blush at that thought.

"Have you talked to her?"  
"No. I'm not sure what to say."  
"What do you want?"  
"I don't think I really want things to go back... I do have feelings like that for her... But that's not a small thing to say."  
"Sometimes we all gotta take a risk and say the big things, sweetie. So what are you going to tell her?"  
"That I want to give it a shot."  
"Feel better now?"  
"I do. Thanks dad."  
Quinn's heart was racing. They were really going to do this.

"Sam's gonna be so proud! Our little girl, gay! Maybe it's a genetic thing!"  
"I'm not gay! I don't like girls! I just... really like Quinn."

"Works for me! Now you can have your precious alone-time. Or maybe you have a thing or 2 to discuss with your blonde BFF down the hall."  
"Maybe I do."  
"I love you. Remember that. No matter what."  
"I know, dad. I love you too."  
Door. Footsteps down the stairs. Quinn sat frozen, and heard the door again. Rachel's light steps down the hall. Knock knock.

She'd been so focussed on the sounds, she almost forgot to answer it.

"Hi Quinn. Can I come in for a minute?"  
"Are you going to anyway?"  
She smiled. "Probably. I need to talk to you about something."  
"Come on in, then."  
She closed the door, and took the time to lock it. Quinn had never used the lock before. She'd never seen Rachel lock a door before either. Privacy was not an issue in this house. Or at least, it never had been. Nerves and butterflies made her feel like she might puke. Or maybe it was just morning sickness.

"So... breakfast was..."  
"A disaster," Quinn finished laughing.  
"Yes, it was. So I guess you know what we're going to talk about. I imagine you have your mind made up as well?"  
"I have given it some thought, and yes, my mind now is made up."  
"So... what is it?" Rachel smiled widely.  
"No way! You go first!"  
"Fine!" She scraped her throat, put a lock of hair behind her ear, and began.

"So... last night... something happened. Between us. I'm just going to take a risk, and say that I enjoyed it. You're a truly amazing girl, with an angelic voice and a beauty that matches up to that. And now I know that you're a great kisser too. Last night, the feelings were so fierce that I could not possibly deny them. Of course I love you for the best friend that you've become, but last night, I felt something else. Something more. It was real, and now I can't seem to shake it off. This... thing I feel is all I can think about. A thing for you. And I think that maybe we should just try it. Give it a shot. A... relationship."  
Rachel swallowed and held her breath. Quinn kept her cool on the outside.

"I know what you mean. I wanted you to be more than a friend. And I still do. So yes, I'd love to give it a try."  
"You would!?" The childlike excitement on Rachel's face made Quinn smile widely.

"I do. Very much."  
Rachel seemed at a loss for words, so instead of words, she kissed Quinn passionately, throwing them both on the bed.

**AN: Remember this point, because the next chapter pick off the second this one left off!**


	9. Chapter 9: Settling, Again

**AN: Like I said, between this chapter and the previous one, about 2 whole seconds have passed. I hope you like it. By the way, I totally had a vision today of Glee picking up after Sectionals in April, and that they'd pick up with my story. Also, my highest regards to the other Glee-fanfiction writers, I've seen some kick-ass stories taking place on this website! The Glee writers would be lucky to have some of you on the team, with what I've read. Basically... read and review. This is my first story, and it didn't take me 24 hours to find out that I absolutely love reviews. Anyone who can squeeze a minute or even a single word in there, throw away your doubts or inhibitions and just write it, because it's more than amazing to read! Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: "No way, you STILL don't own Glee?"  
Way. I still don't own Glee.**

Part of Quinn thought of taking things easy, but that was not the part in control when she parted her lips and felt Rachel's tongue slide between them. She held Rachel closer, stroking her back, hands in her hair. She rolled over so she was on top and kissed Rachel's neck. A soft moan escaped Rachel's lips and she suddenly saw the need for the lock. Rachel's hand cupped her face, and her hands slid to her hips via the sides and back up via the front. Quinn's breathing sped up as she felt her body tense with anticipation. Anticipating something that Quinn hadn't even given thought to yet.

She froze, and stopped the kiss abruptly. She was feeling the way it was going to - maybe just a little too much, even - but this tempo scared her.

"Rachel.."  
"Too much enthusiasm?" Her expressive face turned into an almost comical frown, and Quinn wiped it away with her thumb, smiling.

"I love your enthusiasm, I just need a breath. And maybe we could slow it down a little."  
"Spoken by a true member of the celibacy club. I'm only waiting for the 'let's pray' right now."

"What!?"_ Oh no, he wouldn't--_

"Finn told me. Funny, if a stranger would see this and know that only one of us was still a virgin, my guess is he'd pick the wrong one."  
"Well, yeah, not that weird with your level of so called enthusiasm also known as lust!" Quinn shot back, "Where did you pick up kissing like that anyway?"  
"Same as you..."  
"Puck?"  
Rachel looked down.

"Finn too?" Quinn gasped.

"Are you mad?"  
"No, just a little surprised. Well, even hardly that, I did suspect something for that for a while. Impressive you kept your virtue, though! I know he wanted sex desperately, and since you've proven yourself quite lusting as well..."  
"I would have chickened out, too scared. Not that we ever would have gotten to that part, he suddenly just jumped up and took off, guilt I guess, it was really weird."

Quinn chuckled. Of course, they wouldn't have gotten to that. Not with Finn.

"It wasn't really funny, just weird, he muttered something about a mailman, quivered, made a little sound and... wait... wait, wait, quivering, sounds, you don't think he had an... was having an..."  
Quinn chuckled again and nodded.

"A very familiar problem with Finn. The only thing to keep it from happening is thinking of his mother hitting a mailman, but usually it's too late by then."

"Seriously!? Just like that? Wow, poor guy!"

"Yes. That was something Puck wasn't troubled by. Though he also wasn't troubled by a little gentleness, something that Finn did possess."

"With Puck I actively had to smack his hands away, he was testing his boundaries non-stop."  
"How very chaste of you!"

"You know better than that. You have ever since I freaked out against everyone at the celibacy club... and if you had somehow missed it back then, you probably would have known by now." Somehow she managed to grant Quinn a grin both innocent and purely evil at the same time.

"But no," she said, serious again. "I never had the desire to push things that far with Puck. Or with Finn, for that matter."  
"Do you with me?"

Rachel thought for a minute. Hmm. Bad sign.

"I'm trying to think of an answer, but there is no right answer for this. It's a trap. I'm either the bad girl lusting after you or I don't want you. You first."  
"Chicken," Quinn muttered lovingly, and she kissed Rachel softly. "I don't know. Haven't thought about it."  
"You don't have to think. It's not really a thought-thing, Quinn. Just say what you feel. Do you feel it?"  
"I hope it doesn't come as a surprise that you are very beautiful and desirable. Yes, mostly I like the direction things are heading."  
"Mostly?"  
"The rest of me is scared to death."  
"Good. About me, right back at ya. You had Finn and Puck at your feet, and for a good reason."  
Rachel rolled Quinn over and started kissing her neck.

"You do know that if you keep doing that, this conversation is over because I can't think?"  
"That's what I'm going for!"

That night at dinner, Quinn couldn't stop gloating. Rachel looked at her almost non-stop, squeezing her hand under the table now and then, just for the warm feeling. Quinn kept her eyes mostly away from Rachel's - drawn back in every 2 minutes - because Rachel's stare made her self-conscious, and when she looked back for too long she didn't think she could look away or keep acting normal anymore. That she would start acting so horribly over-the-top in love, the way she always disliked when others were. Jim and Sam were quiet, obviously checking the new Rachel & Quinn out. Sam scraped his fork over his plate.

"So, are you two an item now?"  
Rachel broke her stare.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, will we have to give your girls...privacy?"  
"Do you mean that if I weren't with Quinn you'd barge into my room at any given time without knocking?"  
"Of course not. But will you need it? Privacy?"  
"Well... Maybe that would be... well..."  
"What if we just use the locks when Rachel and I are together? Not just talking you know, but together. It worked this afternoon. Try the door, if it's locked, think your case through, is it necessary that you need to interrupt our time, if yes, knock, if no, turn around and walk away. What about it?" Quinn suggested.

Wow. She had a hard time believing how casually she was talking about this. Privacy during make-out time. But it was necessary, and she found herself gloating again that it was. Because kissing Rachel was going to be a regular activity. Gloat. Gloat.

"So you do need the privacy. You'd just lock yourselves up?"  
"Yeah. We could also do 'busy' or 'do not disturb' plates, but then you'd be really confronted with what your innocent little girl is doing up there."

Oh, this made Rachel blush. She found herself very amused instead of embarrassed by the subject.

Not only Rachel. Jim dropped his fork with a loud noise on his plate, and mumbled an apology. Sam's eyes were twinkling.

"Alright, locks then. You can have that much. You can sleep in the same room if you like during the weekends, and you can pick one or 2 days during school days because I'm a sweet guy and it's your responsibility to keep tabs on your sleeping pattern. But at least half of the week, you girls are sleeping in separate rooms." He chuckled.  
"What!? That wasn't before!" Rachel protested.

"Before I was sure that you would **sleep **if you were in the same room. I'm not stupid."

"Fine. 3 days separate."  
"At least."  
"3 days."  
He nodded.

"And I want to know."  
"What do you want to know?" Quinn asked confused.

"No." Rachel said, resolutely. "It's non of your business."  
"You are living under my roof, Rachel, and you are my daughter, and I want to know. I think I have the right to know such things."  
"It's. . Your. Business." Rachel spat the word through clenched teeth, her eyes drilling into Sam's.

"What does he want to know? What do you want to know, Sam?"  
"Nothing he should know. Nothing someone else would ask of their daughter."

"Touched a sensitive subject, did we, Rachel? Well, Quinn, I'm just asking friendly if you would be so kind to inform me when you have sex."  
"Oh!" Quinn's voice felt strained, and it was an octave high. She looked at Rachel. Rachel's eyes were on fire, she was surprised Sam was so calm. Jim layed his head in his hand.

"Sam, you shouldn't--"  
"I want to know what we would be interrupting. I don't want to be taken by surprise. And I want to know when my daughter loses her innocence. I don't mind you losing it. I do object you not trusting me enough to tell me." His voice was taking on a velvet tone.

"It's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of privacy. Can you name any other way you could dig into my personal life deeper?"  
"I'm sure I can if you give me a minute..."  
"No thank you!" Quinn cut in, "Sam, I'll tell you if something like that would ever occur. I don't think Rachel could get the words out of her throat if she had to say them to you. Don't worry about it now, I'm not after her virginity, and since she knew how to protect it with boys, I'm sure she'll be very careful with me as well."  
Jim gave her a look. "I wouldn't be so sure about -- **OW! **Rachel, that really hurt!"

Rachel's skin was flaming red, passion radiating from her, Quinn was surprised that nothing had spontaneously combust into flames so far. Like Rachel herself. She couldn't deny that she liked it. It felt a little like teasing Rachel. But she loved Rachel all passionate like this, she'd enjoyed all the times Rachel had stormed out of rehearsal dramatically. She was being herself, and she was beautiful.

"Rachel, don't kick your father." Sam said calmly. "Violence is not how we solve things in this house. Quinn, thank you, that's a deal. But are you two an item now?"

"What do you--"  
"I mean, does everyone know? I'm especially talking Glee here."

It took Quinn a moment to comprehend. "Glee club?"

"If you two are together..." he took a pause, looking from one girl to the other.

"Which we are." Rachel filled in, squeezing Quinn's hand again fiercely.

"Just checking. If you are, you may feel the want to behave couple-ish. Also when the Gleeks are around."  
"I don't think we should tell them, or not yet. Everything's just so fresh, with Finn and Puck, and this is just a probation period so to speak. Is it okay?"  
"You're probably right." Rachel nodded, and looked at Jim. "What are you grinning about?"  
"You girls just made things way harder on yourselves than they needed to be. You know what this means. No small kisses, sweet words, making out against the lockers."  
All things they weren't used to anyway.

"I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle." Rachel said, a little cockily.

"That's what he said," Jim laughed, nodding towards Sam. Quinn laughed loudly.

"Maybe we'll be better at this than you. But alright, so it's telling you when we get more involved, sleep at least half of the week alone, don't tell Gleeks just yet. Does that leave us settled, then?"  
"Settled for what?" Jim muttered.

"For the way things are gonna be from now." Rachel took Quinn's hand very fiercely, and pulled Quinn and Quinn's chair closer to her. She leaned in and kissed her, softly, hand cupping her face. For a second, the rest of the world dissolved. When Rachel let her go, it was too soon, and she knew her face was red.

"I see. Settled for **that.**"  
Rachel beamed.


	10. Chapter 10: Getting Into You

**Getting Into You**

**AN: So, I know that this is a short chapter. After this one, I'm taking the story somewhere again. I did love the first moment, some quality Quinnchel (screw Finnchel! XD) /Faberry/Fabrerry time. I really saw it happening before my mind's eye. And of course, another look into Quinn's mind :)**

**Enjoy the chapter, read, review. I know you want to. And you do too.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, nor do I own any of the numerous things I refer to this chapter.**

"Quinn," Rachel said nonchalantly, "Can I ask you something?  
"You can always ask." She was lying down on Rachel's bed, reading some horrifying Roald Dahl story.

"When did you decide that you liked me that way? This way? Was it the kiss? Or the moment after? The morning after? Before?"

"I'm not sure." Quinn thought of a way to express how she felt.

"I didn't think about it, it just felt... natural. Like we'd been heading this way all along, ever since we became friends. The natural thing to happen, to do. Like if it wouldn't have happened that specific night, it would have happened another night, soon after that, you know?"  
She seemed to like that.

"That's good." She kicked back like she was ready to relapse into silence, but Quinn wasn't about to let her off the hook.

"Your turn."  
"I didn't ask it as a return question. This is not a question to be returned."  
"You're not making any sense, and it doesn't matter. Your turn."  
"I've been having mixed feelings about you for some time." Rachel confessed, vaguely, reluctantly.

"Oh come on, Rach, don't underestimate me. That's not going to cut it, and you know it. I told you the truth."  
"I'm not lying! But maybe I'm the one with the embarrassing answer here. One that you don't really want to know."  
"I'll brace myself."  
Rachel took a deep breath, as an indication she was giving in.

"I'm not sure either. At first, when we weren't on talking-base but you had already stopped hating on me, I felt a strange desire to be your friend. I don't just lend my expertise of unslushie-ing to anybody. I wanted to be someone you'd go to. On the other hand, I wanted to break you and Finn up. Part of me did, I won't deny it. I didn't have trouble convincing myself it was because of Finn, but something inside of me wanted to spend time with you as well. Somehow, the other part, the romance part, snuck in between there somewhere. I mean, you're obviously incredibly beautiful, but the more I saw of your personality, the more I liked it, and the more I wanted. I just kept getting closer to you, and kept wanting to grow even closer. This close."  
"See, that really wasn't that bad!" Quinn smiled, then continued.

"With me, it's hard to tell. Because I denied it, mostly. Told myself that I thought you were beautiful out of jealousy or insecurity. That it were just all the hormones. That I thought about kissing you out of curiosity, and wanted to keep getting closer out of friendship. I didn't let my feelings loose like now. It feels so much better."

It was so true. She felt relieved, being honest with herself had made everything better.  
"You've been reading a lot here." Rachel said, changing the subject.  
"Making up for lost time. I used to love books and stories. I couldn't sleep without an audio book playing in the background when I was little, I've always loved being read to."

"What did you listen to?"  
"Lots of things, but my favorites were Winnie the Pooh, The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl's books."  
"What happened to it?"  
"Somewhere along the line I switched books for magazines, just like I switched piano for cheerleading, following after my big sister, she was my role model and that was how we were raised. With make-up and dancing or cheerleading instead of books and music."

She'd been so different once. But the cheerleader, 'the new Quinn' as her mother had said - at least avoiding the word "improved" - had destroyed all that. No, not really destroyed, just stuffed it away. It was coming back now. It was strange, but she felt more at home here, with Rachel and the wonderful Jim and Sam, than at her actual home with her parents, where everything was just stuffed away. Anything to avoid confrontation. So many things had been boiling under the surface, without ever exploding. The only time she'd been honest with her parents ended with her getting out of a place that she couldn't think of as home now. Not with this to compare. It never had the feeling of a safe harbor, a place to go to, the vibe that home's supposed to have. She had that with Glee. With Rachel. And here.

"Would you like me to read to you?" Rachel asked unexpectedly. Quinn's face first went blank with surprise, but then a smile broke through and her face lit up with excitement. Rachel had the most beautiful voice.

"Would you?"  
"Of course, make yourself comfortable."  
Rachel pulled her closer, positioning them so that Quinn's head was resting in Rachel's lap. She started stroking Quinn's blonde locks, while her expressive voice read to Quinn of stories of Roald Dahl. That moment, a thought broke through Quinn's mind.

"_This_," she thought, "_This is how home is supposed to feel_."

It was the night before school was going to take off again, and Quinn felt on edge. As much as she wished it would, the vacation couldn't last forever. Nothing could distract her. She'd tried several books, playing the keyboard, listening to at first the soft emotion behind Bon Iver's songs, then trying instrumental piano music of Yiruma and ultimately seeking diversion in a loud Foo Fighters' track. Then, she found a track by a band her sister liked. Christian, of course, but they had some good songs and some nice lyrics. Her iPod said the song was called "Getting Into You", and she found herself listening to the chorus, listening to what the male's voice was singing.

_"I'm getting into you_

_Because you got to me, in a way words can't describe_

_I'm getting into you_

_Because I've got to be_

_You're essential to survive_

_I'm going to love you with my life"_

Maybe a little dramatic, but she felt the lyrics. She closed her eyes, and let images of Rachel pass her mind's eye, but her mind sprung back to her original train of thought way too soon. She went over the possibilities of tomorrow. Would everyone already know? Finn wasn't that kind of person, but painful experiences had taught her that Brittany and Santana were. But since the vacation, probably nobody knew yet. It would go slowly. People would start finding out, and suddenly you turn around and everyone would know. That's the way things went on McKinley High. Then she'd get a slushie facial everyday. Rachel already had promised her she would always clean her up, a comforting thought. At least she wouldn't be alone. It would be hard to have her guard up all the time again. Strange. Before, she'd only let her guard down the rare times when she'd been sure she was alone. Now, for weeks, she had had her guard down all the time. And she'd have to be careful with Rachel tomorrow. People might start noticing if she'd stare adoringly to Rachel throughout the whole class. It couldn't damage her reputation anymore, but this was not the right time. Not until the drama was over. She wondered when that would be.

Her thoughts drifted to a subject she'd been trying to push out of her mind for weeks. Her kid. Her baby girl. She knew that - since she wasn't giving her girl up to mr. Shue's crazy wife - she had to arrange something different. She couldn't put it off for much longer. She knew why she kept doing it anyway. It was already hard to think about giving her child away. She didn't think she'd have the strength. Her baby bump was going in a high tempo now, and she knew that she loved the girl inside her. Truth? She wanted to keep her. But she knew there was no way. It was unreasonable. She had told no-one, who would understand this but a mother? She barely understand herself, as so often. Things are going to get hard soon. But not tonight, she decided.

She got up and walked to Rachel's door. The lights were out, and Rachel was half asleep.

"I can't sleep. I'm anxious for tomorrow."

"Do you need to talk?"  
"Not really."  
"Do you need a fervent midnight make-out session?"  
Quinn smiled. "Tempting, but no. I need to lie next to you, and just be close to you tonight."  
Rachel rolled over, creating more space in the large bed. Quinn lied herself down, and felt immediate relief overflowing her body, and peace overflowing her mind, causing her to fall asleep.

**AN: (Yes, another one) So, I know I called out a lot of songs in the second half, but don't you know that feeling? When you're searching for a song, but you don't know what you're in the mood for? That was what I was trying to capture. Of course, they're all songs that I absolutely love. In my mind, the 4 songs are:**

**- Bon Iver - Skinny Love**

**- Yiruma - Kiss The Rain**

**- Foo Fighter's - Best of You**

**- Relient K - Getting Into You**

**But that is just for the rare idiot who wants to know. I like references in stories, it makes the character more like a real person. You know, now we know what Quinn's iPod might have looked like if we'd pick it up. It makes Quinn more like a real person. So that's another reason for all the songs and books. Don't forget to push the pretty green button you see here :)**


	11. Chapter 11: Kissing In The Rain

**AN: I know. Not that long, but fluffy, and it's preceding the M-rated chapter that follows next. Hereby I want to warn everyone, I'm not gonna make this an M-rated story, it's just one scene really. So if you do not want to read Rachel and Quinn doing it, let me now spoil the next chapter: In the next chapter, Quinn and Rachel have sex. You do not have to read it, it's not of vital importance to the rest of the story, so decide, read it or skip it to hopefully pick up at chapter 13 again :)  
I love reviews. I know everyone says that. Everyone's right. Reviews are the best thing you can possibly give to a writer. Even if their bad. So, read, review? :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee, don't own whatever I may refer to.**

At school the next day, nobody knew about the new turns in Babygate. No slushie facial. To her immense relief, Finn - and most of McKinley High with him - had decided to ignore her. By far the best that could have happened. The day got even better when they received their happy-new-year timetable, which allowed her to sit next to Rachel, Brittany or Santana every class. The day ended with a Glee practice that went exceptionally well, and Quinn was almost skipping beside Rachel when they walked to her locker, holding her hand.

A small detail, by the side, lockers at McKinley High were arranged by alphabetical order of last names. Right now, they were standing in the hallway F - G - H, while Quinn was grabbing her books. The school was empty, after practice, the Glee kids were usually the last ones there.

"This was a good day." Quinn stated.

"It really was," Rachel said and smiled. "I'm so glad to see you happy. I was afraid you'd get down being back here. Right now it's almost the opposite though!"  
A thrill of relief was controlling Quinn's body and her mind - making Quinn herself let go a little of her control, but it didn't matter now. The day was done, and it had been just fine. Relief washed over her, and she was starting to look forward with a positive vibe. Things would be alright, and she'd have her Rachel. The girl smiling widely just for her right now. Quinn closed her locker and Rachel pushed her against it, kissing her fiercely without a warning.

"Sorry." Rachel backed off. "I just really wanted to do that."  
"Hey, don't apologize, do I look like I'm complaining?"  
Rachel smiled and kissed her again. They heard a noise, causing them to pull back in shock. Although, not as shocked as Finn Hudson, who's books were spread across the floor, explaining the noise. His mouth was hanging open as obviously shock and arousal fought for priority.

"Damnit!" Rachel cursed.

Rachel never cursed. "Rachel?" Quinn said.

"We didn't even last a day! He's going to laugh at us so badly!"

Jim's voice echoed in her mind.... _no making out against the lockers_... and they hadn't even lasted through the first day.

She looked back to her ex, still dumbstruck. To make matters worse, Gossip Queen walked in.

"Kurt!? What are you doing here!?"  
"Kurt Hummel." Rachel whispered. He still heard, since everything else was quiet.

Judging by the look on his face and his inconvenient gossip-smarts, he pieced things together immediately.

An amused smile played around his lips.

"The better question would be, what were you doing? Although, do I even need to ask?"

"So wait," Finn seemed to have found his voice.

"If you're making out..." Kurt made a sound in between laughing and a knowing snort.

"Does that mean that you're...together?" Finn said, eyes a little bit wide. Quinn saw that this thought aroused him and pushed away the want to roll her eyes.

"Does that mean that you're **both** not in love with Finn but each other?" Kurt asked, his eyes lit up and his voice was voice pure with innocent excitement.

Finn frowned a little at _that_ take on things. Quinn got that one. First he had both, now he had neither.

Rachel turned to Finn.

"Finn, you obviously care for Quinn, otherwise the whole school would know about Puck and Quinn by now."  
Quinn cringed internally at the reminder of her one night with Puck. Finn's eyes flickered to Quinn, but he didn't even blink.  
"If you would tell everyone about this, that would all be for nothing because we'd have the drama again. If you care even a little about either of us, you'd keep this between us."  
Now she turned to Kurt.

"And as for you, Kurt, King of Gossip, you're not the only one with the power of giving someone a low blow. If you tell anyone, I don't care if it's Mercedes, I don't care if it's Puck, I don't care if it's Mr. Shue, if you tell anybody, I will tell everybody that you've had plastic surgery."

"I'd never!"  
"I don't care, and neither do they. You might try being a little bit grateful, we made it possible for you to open your hunt. Do we have ourselves a deal?"  
Without waiting for an answer, she continued:  
"Good. Great practice today, wasn't it? Quinn, we're going home. I promised dad and daddy we'd help with dinner. See you tomorrow, have a good night!"

Without another look, she dragged a laughing Quinn along with her, away from the 2 stunned boys in the hallway.

Rachel and Quinn walked out of McKinley High. Rachel had parked her cars 3 blocks away because of the traffic. Walking was faster sometimes, and today had been sometimes. By the time Quinn had her laughter under control, she said: "We're not actually going to tell The Dads, are we?"  
"I don't see why not!" Rachel had said, sounding surprised. "I've never kept anything from them before. And I'm not planning on ever doing so either."

"Accept when it comes to sex, of course."  
"That's different. That's private. I wish they wouldn't have to know at all, but I'm glad that I won't have to be the one to tell them when we do it."

Part of Quinn froze at that statement. Especially the "when" part. Another part of Quinn felt like it had been lit on fire, creating a very uncomfortable balance. Rachel immediately corrected herself.

"If. I mean if, of course."  
"Of course."  
It started raining. It had been drizzling before, but now the sky broke into a full-fledged shower. Sigh. They still had 2 blocks to go until they'd reach Rachel's car. She knew she'd be shivering by the time they got there. There were some perks to the rain, she liked the way her skin felt after the rain, and how everything seemed to develop a different smell. She did like walking through the rain. She just didn't like getting cold, wet and shivering. Rachel was smiling.

"I thought you were a sunshine girl!" Quinn said.

"I do have a preference for the warm sun, but that does not mean that I can't see the positive side of the rain. You know, some of the best scenes in history of Broadway, television and movie are set in the rain."  
"The Notebook." Quinn nodded.  
"Why is the first thing you say the Notebook?" Rachel asked, with a weird look.

"I've seen it a million times. It's Brittany's favorite movie, she'd always make us watch it on Cheerio's night. Santana and I have watched it over 15 times with her."  
"I was talking a little more... epic. Like Singing In The Rain."  
"That's an option too." Quinn laughed. They were completely soaked through by now, but it didn't really matter. She was glad that they were going home, and that this didn't happen on their way to school. She stole a glance sideward, eyeing Rachel up and down, knowing what she was probably to see. She wasn't disappointed. Her clothes clung to her body in an undeniably very attractive way, and the rain gave her skin a soft glow.

"But I can see your point. The Notebook does feature possibly one of the best on-screen kissing scenes in the history of film. Because of the rain."

Rachel eyed her meaningfully, and Quinn went with her gut, pushing inhibitions aside and pushing Rachel against the nearest wall. To kiss her. Again. She thought the rain just might damp instantly wherever it touched her body. _In this pace, __**when**__ would probably indeed be the right word to say._

That night, Quinn was lying on her bed, listening to the shower running. She knew Rachel was in there, and kept pushing inappropiate thoughts about the girl out of her mind. For no good reason whatsoever. She caught herself wondering what she would look like right now, trying to picture the moment, burning with curiosity and desire. How would Rachel be looking, right this second? What would Rachel look like in her most natural state? She suddenly felt excitement for the day, be it far away in the future or nearby, that she would get a chance to find out for herself. She almost couldn't wait for that day to come, and come soon. Then she pushed the train of thought out of her head again.


	12. Chapter 12: Your Body Is A Wonderland

**AN: WARNING! WARNING! M-rated chapter coming up right now. Consider yourself warned if you didn't read the warning written in Chapter 11. I hope you guys enjoy it. No real developments of other story lines here. Read, review if you like :) I like it at least :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee, or anything that I refer to.**

**Your Body Is A Wonderland**

Time passed, the days flew by. Quinn's baby bump grew some, causing her to switch to wider clothes, although somehow it still wasn't really obvious. She really was showing extraordinarily little, but she wasn't complaining. Otherwise, people would be staring for real. She almost tumbled into a real relationship with Rachel, a serious relationship. She'd had trouble imagining it, but now that she had it, it felt natural. It felt incredible to be this close, it was never too much, too close, she only wanted to keep getting closer, even now. Many make-out sessions had come and gone, and since about 2 weeks ago, the need to push things over the edge was absorbing her during those make-outs, she almost couldn't control herself anymore. Then came the day that, after keeping it in for some time, she decided it was time to confront Rachel. Subtly. Rachel was in her light pink bathrobe, about to take a shower, when Quinn stopped her in the doorway of the bathroom.

"Rachel, wait." She bit her lip. Subtle, the word kept repeating itself in her mind.

"If I would be... ready, for a certain thing to happen, to take a certain part of our relationship to a certain different... level? I mean, if you'd want such a thing, you'd tell me, or ask me, right? I'd want you to. That's why I'm saying this."  
Rachel put on her most matter-of-fact like tone.  
"Do you know why I hate math?"

Quinn smiled at Rachel's illogical train of thought, knowing it was best to play along.

"I don't. You always get A's."  
"Of course, I'm a straight-A student aren't I? But let me tell you. It's because I don't like the questions, the way they put the problems. Like when they're asking about Mr. Johnson's apples and Mr Jackson's banana's, but really they just want to know if you know some formula. You have to find the real problem within the problem."

Oh. Suddenly Quinn realized Rachel's train of thought.

"I'm not gonna dig for the question within the question, Quinn. You can ask anything, you know that! I may not always comply, but you can always ask. So just ask."

She smiled in an encouraging manner, leading Quinn to believe that she really hadn't seen the real meaning of the question.

"Rachel, I'm ready. I want it. You. It. And what I want to know is if you're ready to, and if not, I want to ask you to tell me when you are."  
Rachel's face turned white, instead of the red blush that Quinn had expected. It turned paler than Quinn had ever seen it before, and for a second she thought her girlfriend just might fall to the ground. Crap. What happened to subtle?

"You want... sex?"  
"Yes. I do." This was such a weird conversation...

They stood there. The silence seemed to last forever, at least for Quinn.

"I want it too." Rachel's voice was barely more than a whisper. "I do. Very much."

Another silence. Both didn't really know what to do next. Quinn tried to wrap her mind around what Rachel had just agreed to.

"I'm gonna go take my shower now."  
"Okay." Rachel turned around and closed the door. Quinn just stood there.

The water started running, and she had a flashback of involuntary images that had forced themselves upon her mind a while before, her thinking of Rachel in the shower. She blinked, and was back in real time, with an insane idea forming in her mind. No... she couldn't....

Oh. No, she actually couldn't, she forgot, Rachel always locked the door when she was in the shower.

She gripped the handle without thinking, and pushing a little she felt the door move with her, and she almost screamed. She closed the door immediately.

Had Rachel left the door unlocked on purpose? It wasn't like her to forget something like that. Before she gave herself the time to get too nervous and change her mind, she got to her room, dropped her clothes and wrapped a towel around her instead, trying to give as little a thought as possible to the bold thing she was about to do so she wouldn't chicken out. She opened the door and stepped inside. Rachel was singing, as always in the shower. Taking Chances. How typical, and appropriate. She didn't notice Quinn. Quinn dropped her towel to the ground, and walked with soft but sure steps to the cabin. A moment of doubt when she had her hand on the handle. But it was too late to turn back now, so with an anxious knot in her stomach and a frenzied feeling in her whole body, she pushed. Rachel turned around and looked at her immediately, shocked.

"Quinn!"  
"The door was unlocked."  
"I know. But I didn't dream to think you'd actually come here!"

"I did. Don't know where I got the nerves, but here I am."

She looked at Rachel. The full Rachel, for the first time. Rachel took Quinn in as well.

Quinn had never seen Rachel's true beauty like right now. Every form, every curve, every new inch of skin revealed.

"Rachel..."  
"Quinn." Rachel grabbed Quinn's arm and pulled them together, body to body. Quinn's was tingling with excitement, with all the new sensations that Rachel's naked body pressed against hers brought her, and she was trembling with anticipation. Because the anticipation that reigned her body now, was rightful anticipation for what was really coming next.

Quinn let her hand slide down Rachel's sides, exploring. She left one of them at her hip, and trailed one back up, stroking her hair before pushing it away from her neck, pressing a kiss near the collarbone. Rachel let her hands travel down her back, doing some exploring of their own. Every part of Quinn felt hypersensitive, and the freedom of finally doing all those things she'd longed for crashed upon her. She kissed Rachel on her hair, then traveled down to her face, and eventually her lips. Rachel tightened her grip when Quinn's hand brushed past her nipple, hardening it the same instant, and her breath caught in her throat. This was even better than Quinn could have ever dreamed. They were in the shower. Wet. Rachel all soapy. And nothing she couldn't do. She answered to every desire that crossed her mind, every way to touch Rachel. Rachel's responds, shivers and moans, delighted Quinn. But Rachel wasn't having it, standing by almost powerless while Quinn pretty much had her way with it. She pushed Quinn roughly against the door, kissed her neck and took her nipple in her mouth for a split second. Quinn's knees buckled, and a brilliant thought came through.

"Maybe we should get to a bed"

"Why bother?" Rachel didn't seem to want any reason to stop the scene.

"I didn't lock the door either, and I almost can't stand!"

Rachel sighed. "Fine then."

She turned around, turned off the shower and went on to grab a towel.

She rubbed it over Quinn and then over herself.

"Now we're not dripping anymore and that's good enough for me!" She grabbed Quinn's hand, opened the door recklessly, pulled Quinn along with her and almost danced with an exuberant smile to her room, now locking the door behind her. Quinn took Rachel's hand again, and guided her to the bed, laying her down on it. Rachel pulled her on top, to roll over instantly and kiss her again. Quinn's hands gripped tightly around Rachel's shoulders, until Rachel stopped the kiss. She gave Quinn a deep look, drawing her in with her eyes, while her hand went from Quinn's face down to her breasts, her stomach, pausing a little under the navel. She slowed down her pace, and went in a teasingly slow tempo. Like Quinn needed even more tension. Quinn closed her eyes, focusing on the path of Rachel's hand. Rachel cupped her for a second, before sliding a finger inside, and Quinn took a deep breath. Rachel kept it there for a moment, before pushing a second in with it, and she started to stroke Quinn. A slight thought about being quiet passed her by, but she couldn't keep inside her moans.

Waves of pleasure coursed through her, filling her with delight from head to toe, and Quinn pushed her hips closer to Rachel's hand. As her panting grew faster, she felt a sensation traveling through her body, until she felt like she just needed one final nudge to drive her over the edge. When Rachel's hand pushed exactly right, she moaned loudly and started shaking uncontrollably.

When Quinn calmed down, she felt the moist from the shower mix with her own sweat. She laughed.

"You're good!"

"I know. First time I did that to anyone other than myself."  
"Really? I didn't do it, I was raised believing proper girls don't do that."  
"Maybe they don't." Rachel nuzzled her, and Quinn's smile widened for a second, before she said:

"But I have to warn you. I'm willing to return the favor, but I really don't know what I'm doing."  
"I think you'll manage." Rachel gave her the smile, the smile that made Quinn believe that she could do anything.

Quinn took a deep breath, and kissed Rachel shortly, taking her bottom lip between her teeth.

The full impact of the desire that had led up to this moment hit her and she suckled Rachel's neck, leaving a small mark, while kneading her right breast.

She put kisses a little more southwards, before returning to the neck. Her hands kept on heading south, and when she arrived where she needed to be, she pushed a finger in. When she pulled it out, a curious urge overcame her. She sniffed her finger and then licked it tentatively. Rachel gasped.

Santana had told her ones that a boys' fluid tasted horribly, and she was happy to note that Rachel's taste was unique but not bad at all. She went for it, answering to her instincts, and pressed a kiss on Rachel's bellybutton. She proceeded going down, leaving a trail of moist kisses. She felt Rachel tens up drastically underneath her, and looked up, now between Rachel's legs. Her girlfriends expression was a mixture of thoughts, varying from incredulous to unsure. Mostly, she seemed torn between fear and nerves who told her: "You can't do this, Quinn!" versus the lust and hormones that reigned a teenagers body, screaming: "Yes! Please do it, Quinn!"

Quinn made the decision for her, put Rachel's legs to rest on her shoulder and trailed kisses on the inside of her leg, feeling Rachel's moist skin against her lips again and again. For a moment, she didn't know what to do next. Tentatively, she probed her tongue forwards, filling the girl. She moved a little up, and when her tongue touched the little nob, Rachel released a loud moan. Quinn found her rhythm. Rachel's panting was probably the most amazing turn-on sound she had ever heard. Suddenly, the legs cramped around her, Rachel thrust her hips forward and that was it. Rachel kept quivering for quite long, and when her climax was over, she pulled up Quinn.

"Didn't see that one coming, right?"

"No, I did not."

"So," Quinn looked at the ceiling before turning her gaze at Rachel again. "Are we good?"  
Rachel's familiar smile broke across her face, like the sun breaking through the clouds.

"Better than ever," she answered.


	13. Chapter 13: Too Good To Be True?

**AN: Another day, another chapter. It took me pretty long to write this one - I have absolutely no idea why since it's not really that long and nobody dies - actually taking up some of the time I had planned to study for my Ancient Greek test tomorrow XD It's very fluffy, as in, if this was food the cavities would start appearing after one bite. Hahah. Sorry I do the hahah thing all the time, I prefer hahah over LOL for some unexplainable reason. But for the serious-story lovers out there, hang on, because the next chapter is going to give the story a bit of an angsty turn. If you're reading this, know that every email I get from saying I've got a review or a follower or anything pretty much gives me a natural high. You know you really want to review it. You really do. So just come out of your review-closet, and write a review! :D I'm saying please. Please? :) Oh, and yes, the end is a reference to Ghost. I love that movie =3  
Discovery of the day: I now know how to insert a horizontal line. I feel a bit blind that I haven't seen it before, but I think I'm gonna use it obsessively from now on. Nah, just kidding. Sortof. Oh, and to add to this already WAY to long author note, I don't think it's gonna fit but hereby I'm telling you the title it's supposed to have: When Something Seems Too Good To Be True... It Sometimes Isn't.  
**

**Disclaimer: It's possible. I still don't own Glee. Oh, and I don't own anything that I refer too either. Unfortunately.**

**Horizontal line #1!  
**

* * *

**When Something Seems Too Good To Be True... It Sometimes Isn't  
**

4 days later, Rachel was sitting on Quinn's bed, while Quinn was behind her laptop had her desk, searching for information on how to give birth as painlessly as possible. Rachel whistled through her teeth.

"What?" Quinn asked, turning around.

"I just was thinking how my dads didn't even mention it to me. Impressive."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Well, I figured you told them about our... incident this week. And they haven't given me any crap about it! Not even teasing. Very unlike them, but hey, I'm not complaining!"

Quinn flushed. "Right..."

"What?" Rachel looked at her and gasped.

"You haven't told them yet!?"

She hadn't. She had been putting this off all week.

"I'm not really sure how I should tell them! It's embarrassing. And really, do they need to know?"

"They didn't, and I never supported them knowing. But I do support you keeping your promise, and I'm gonna make sure that you will!"

"Oh come on Rach. You know that they don't really want to know this."

"You promised, and now your stuck with this."  
"I don't know why I wasn't bothered by this before."  
"Well, at first you didn't really know them this well. You've become part of the family now, I mean, you've met practically every cousin I've got, and I know my dads now see you as a real part of this household. At first, you'd only have to tell my dads. Pretty bad, but not horrible. But now, my guess is that you've come to see them as family as well, which is a wholly different story."  
"I do, I see you as my family now," Quinn said vaguely, contemplating what Rachel had just said to her. Then clicking back to real life.

"Does that make us sisters?"  
"That's a way you can see it, at least a stranger can, I guess... but I don't want to contemplate that take on things for too long if that's alright. I've never been a supporter of incest, so I'd rather see us as we are. Not sisters, but just as close."

"I like that."  
"You gotta tell them soon. As a matter of fact, you should tell them today, before you chicken out for good."

"Today!? Why the rush?"  
"Otherwise you will have waited too long, and you won't dare telling them at all."  
"That's not necessarily the case."  
"Maybe it isn't, maybe it is. But you should tell them. Today."

"Fine. Before midnight. It's no big deal."  
"Right, no big deal."

Quinn didn't like the smug smile gracing Rachel's face, and made it go away by kissing her.

* * *

After dinner, Rachel, Quinn and the dads sat down in the garden. One of the Berry household traditions Quinn had come to love the most. Once the weather allowed it, they all went to sit down in the backyard with coffee or hot chocolate and a lantern. Then they sat there until the sun went down. Quinn and Sam were usually reading, while Rachel and Jim were playing a game. Sam would join halfway through, and then Rachel would turn to Quinn and she would join the game as well. Sometimes Jim would grab his guitar, and Rachel and Quinn would show off their singing qualities. It was a strange way of spending the evening, but it helped Quinn understand what had made the Berries such a close family. And it had helped her grow closer to them as well. Sitting there, it wasn't hard to imagine that this was her place in this world. Then her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp pain against her leg, where Rachel had kicked her. She knew better than to make a sound, she just looked up and Rachel nudged her head to her parents. Quinn sighed, and closed her book with a loud clap on purpose, grabbing the attention of Jim and Sam.

"Samuel, Jim, there is something I'd like to talk to you about."

"Alright, what is the matter?"  
"It concerns me and Rachel. As you know, we have been going out for quite a while now."

Why did she always speak formally in situations like these, when she was nervous? It was a dead giveaway. An amused smile played around Sam's lips.

"We are aware of that fact, yes." Slightly mocking. Of course.

"And as you undoubtedly know from life experiences, relationships grow and change over time. Develop."

Quinn bit her lip. "As did ours."  
"And how did yours develop, Quinn?" Sam rested his fingertips against each other, looking a little bit like a shrink.

"Well, funny you should ask." In this pace, her bottom lip would be destroyed within an hour.

She thought about putting on lip gloss, but wasn't sure if she was calm enough that her hands wouldn't shake.

"We have taken our relationship to another level this week."

She looked at Rachel, begging with her eyes. Rachel helped. Well, not really actually.

"Actually, mostly Quinn did. She took the initiative in this matter, but I was willing to comply, I must admit."

That was totally uncalled for. Thank you Rachel. She decided to spit it out before Rachel could make any more comments like these.

"W-we had sex."

Samuel laughed.

"Well well well! I can say that I'm most surprised to hear this coming out of your mouth, Quinn!"

"Didn't you expect us to do it at one point or another?"  
"Well yes, actually I expected you to do it weeks ago. I figured that you wouldn't tell me at all. I wouldn't have told me."  
"Did you girls really wait until this week?" Jim said, surprise and admiration in his voice.

"Of course we did! And I promised to tell you, didn't I?" Quinn replied. Rachel winked at Quinn, before adding:

"Yes daddy, we didn't jump in the sac after 3 days as you probably would have expected. And promises are made to be kept."  
Jim pulled his daughter in a hug.  
"I'm really proud of you girls for holding out that long! It's better that way."  
"It really is. Thank you for telling us." Sam smiled at Quinn, and added:  
"Of course, this will mean that we're going to have to lock you girls up overnight, because sleepovers from now on are out of the question."  
"Very funny, dad." Rachel let out a small laugh. When Quinn locked eyes with her, she saw the happiness glowing, and wished that her life like this would continue forever. Nothing ever changing and the happiness never subsiding.

* * *

That night, Rachel stayed with her. Arms locked around Rachel, in their own bubble. Rachel nuzzled her, making Quinn laugh.

"I love it when you nuzzle me."  
"I love nuzzling you as well" Rachel smiled and kissed her softly. Then she turned her eyes away and Quinn felt the mood shift.

When she looked up again, she saw the mood shift reflected in Rachel's expression, that had gone from playful to serious.

Rachel bit her lip, a habit she'd picked up from Quinn.

"I love you," barely more than a whisper. This was the first time either of them had said it, with so many words.

Quinn had a hard time believing that it had taken so long, and was surprised that Rachel's eyes actually seemed a little nervous and anxious for the response. Incredible, she was still unsure, even now. Time to end that, hopefully once and for all.

"I love you, too."

A wide smile spread across Rachel's face, and Quinn felt her breathing out in relief.

"Can't believe you didn't see that one coming," she had to add.

"It's a big deal, saying those words. You shouldn't throw them away carelessly."  
"I know, but still, that you were still doubting my love for you."  
"It seems more like a dream than reality sometimes. I still can't believe you feel the same way. Friendship, alright, but that you feel this too? You know when life just seems to good to be true? It seems like that right now. You love me. _You_ love _me. _This is more than I could have asked for, because it's more than I could have dreamed about. For the first time, my imagination seems dull in comparison to the real life I'm leading now."

"I'm glad about that. And whenever you're still doubting, you fool, just say the word and I'll remind you of the truth."

"I really love you." Rachel said, and laughed. "I'll probably say this 3 times a minute from now on just because it feels so nice."  
"Ditto, Rach. I love you, and I'm truly yours."

"You shouldn't have said that. Now I'm gonna claim what's mine."  
Rachel rolled on top of her and kissed her, ending the conversation.


	14. Chapter 14: Where Does The Good Go?

**AN: I'm terribly sorry, I know I may have lost many among you by the time you've finished reading this chapter. It's pretty angsty, but angsty can be good, right? :) The story is finishing up in my head. This turn is big, as you probably will know. I hope that you like it. Please, let me know if you do (or yell at me for giving the story an angsty turn) by reviewing this. I love reviews. I think I may have become an addict. Who cares about drugs, reviews are way better! So please, read and then... maybe... just maybe... review? :) Enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Unfortunately. Yes, that rhymes, on purpose.**

Quinn walked through the halls, holding hands with Rachel. No-one noticed/ Once she had stopped being popular, people had stopped paying attention to her actions. It was strangely freeing to do what she want, with not a single comment. Rachel squeezed her hand and said her goodbye, going off to her class, while Quinn had a free period. She walked up the stairs to the Auditorium, pausing at the end of the stairs, leaning against the door. Now she was 35 weeks along, physical activities were a big deal and head rushes were very common. She held still for a second, before walking into the Auditorium. She sat down behind the piano, and played a melody that had been stuck in her head for days. It felt good playing it at last, maybe finally, getting it out of her head.

She song softly along with the piano:

_"Well, maybe I've been here before  
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor,  
I used to live alone before I knew you.  
I've seen your flag on the marble arch,  
but love is not a victory march.  
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah._

_Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah."  
_

Her fingers flowed over the keys in a natural way, and she was satisfied when she played the last note. She felt her little girl kick her insides and put a hand on her stomach. She knew things would change, and change soon. When life it was perfect just the way it was, this could only mean a bad thing. Another kick, and Quinn smiled. She knew her baby liked it when she played the piano, and she played another verse of Hallelujah before letting it flow into Amélie's theme. Something inside her told that this was her baby's favorite. When she finished, the kicking had stopped, and Quinn's thoughts went back to the future. Her life hadn't ever felt this right being herself to the fullest, singing and laughing her way through the daylight and spending her nights with the girl she loved the most. She had a safety net again, which was comforting. But she mostly was just enjoying her life.

The bell rang. Time to pick up Rachel before returning here. She walked to the door and opened it. Too quickly. Freaking head rushes. She stretched out her hand to lean against the wall, but her hand grabbed into the nothing. Quinn didn't get a chance to reposition herself. Before she realized what was happening, she fell, tumbling down the cold hard stairs.

* * *

She woke up, lying halfway in the staircase, halfway in the hall. Panic around her, people freaking out. She saw Santana crying, and Brittany was leaning over her.

"She's awake!" she called up to Kurt.  
"Kurt... I need Rachel." Quinn said, knowing it was hardly understandable. Her body wasn't listening to what her mind was telling it to do. Kurt somehow understood anyway, he nodded and grabbed his cellphone.

"Rachel, come here soon. We're at the stairway at the Auditorium. It's Quinn."

Silence. He hung up. "She's coming. Santana already called an ambulance, it could arrive any minute now. You're gonna be fine, Quinn." he said. His voice was a little shaky. Quinn tried to mumble an answer, but her consciousness abandoned her instead.  


* * *

Next time Quinn woke up, she was in a bed, in a dark room that smelled like hospital. Her hands immediately flew to her stomach. It felt wrong. She felt empty. She checked her stomach and...it was normal again. Her stomach was flat. She didn't want to consider the possibilities. To distract herself, she checked her body. Soreness. She wiggled her toes. No wheelchair, then. She wiggled her fingers, only now noticing someone was holding her hand. She knew the hand, the touch felt too familiar to be anyone else but her. She looked sideways, and saw Rachel move, waking up.

"You're awake!" She whispered.

"I am. How long was I gone?"

"It's been 3 days, they kept you asleep on purpose."  
"The doctors?"  
"Yes, you're in a hospital. Further on, it's 3:17 in the morning, you're Quinn Fabray and I'm Rachel Berry."

She could hear the smile in Rachel's voice, and was glad to feel the sweet breath against her face. But some things were more important.

"What happened, exactly? What did I miss?"  
"You fell down the stairs. Santana called an ambulance, and Kurt called me, and I've stayed with you ever since. Jim and Sam have been around here a lot too, they've been very worried. You've had an operation, because you had some internal bleedings, but now they fixed everything you're gonna be fine, and live a long long time," Rachel whispered in a soothing voice. Quinn's mind only gave her one reason why she'd need soothing.

"I will, but will she?" She was hardly anxious. She already knew.

"Quinn... I'm so sorry. She's gone."  
It was typical for Rachel to say gone instead of dead. The girl from her imagination shattered into a thousand pieces, like a mirror getting smashed, and she breathed in deeply. Her baby, her child, the girl she'd been carrying for the past months would never see the live she should have had, going into the light before even getting a chance to live it. As the unfairness and reality sunk in, tears flowed to her eyes. Rachel wiped them away before laying herself down on the bed next to Quinn, holding her while she started weeping, mourning the loss of her child.

* * *

Quinn stayed in the hospital for a week after that. It was unnecessary, but the doctors were still worried. Rachel was always there. Usually Jim or Sam as well, Jim almost starting to cry when he saw her awake. Also, one or 2 of the other Glee kids were present as well. They all treated her very carefully, until Quinn told them in a strict voice that she was perfectly fine and that she wouldn't break into pieces at every word. It almost was a relief when Puck came in.  
"So, crossed over to the other side I see?"  
"What are you talking about, Puck?"  
"When you fell, Berry here sprinted to your body and pretty much made it clear that she liked you a little more than just a friend."  
He grinned, thinking he just spoiled Rachel's "secret".

"You were?" Quinn's eyes turned soft, and she looked at her girlfriend, a blush obviously creeping into her neck and her face.

"Why aren't you surprised?" Puck said, obviously surprised himself.

"It's about time everyone knew. Rachel and I have been going out for a while now. We've been dating for... 3 months already in 2 days."  
Rachel smiled. "You kept track after our first kiss as well?"

"Of course!" She gave Rachel's hand a tight squeeze. Then turned to Noah, who frowned at first and then smiled.

"Berry and Fabray, who would have guessed? I wish I could really imagine the two of you together. That's really hot."  
"Thanks Puck, I guess."

"Any chance I could talk you into a threesome? Come on, you know it would be hot."

"I think we'll be just fine by ourselves, Noah. But thanks for the offer." Rachel didn't take her eyes of Quinn.

Then Quinn thought of something. "Could you maybe mention this to Jacob Ben Israel? If he puts it on his blog soon, it'll probably have blown over mostly by the time I get back to McKinley High."  
"Would I have to talk to him?"  
"Would you do it as a favor?"  
"Fine. No guarantees, you're gonna get comments anyway. And offers like mine. So, extremely hot." His eyes glistened in a way that left no need for guessing at the pictures coloring Puck's dirty mind.

"I've almost missed your innuendo's, Puck. Almost."  
"A dirty mind is a joy forever," he quoted and then lapsed into silence, with a smug smile on his face, looking a lot from Rachel to Quinn, who decided to let him enjoy this specific joy by himself.

Ms. Pillsbury even dropped in for a visit, bringing someone who was specialized in mothers losing their children. Quinn at first wasn't feeling it, but when she decided that it would probably be better for her to engage in the conversation, she spilled her guts. How she wanted to give her girl up at first, but then realized that she wanted to keep the girl, loving her in a mothering way that she could have never believed was like her. She knew she could have never her kid up, although it might have been better. But now, the decision had been made for her. She missed the feeling of having a baby inside of her, strangely enough, but was mostly crushed, that she'd never get a chance to see her child as a young woman. It was better that she got it all out. Not only because her logical mind reasoned with her, that this would be even more traumatizing than it already was, but also because it just felt good to talk. When she did, she felt herself dealing with it. She chose to let Rachel stay during the 3 conversations (she refused to call them sessions) she had, all 3 while she was staying in the hospital. She wanted Rachel to know how she felt. When she got out of the hospital, her body was healed. Her mind was a bigger problem, but she was on the right path. But at least the change she'd been waiting for now had come. And at least she still had the feeling of Rachel's soft, pink lips and comforting voice whenever her mind would go into the negative mode again. She was curious about what would happen next. How would her life go from here? She hadn't looked further than giving birth ever since the stick had turned pink. Now it was time to face the future again. Quinn couldn't help but wonder, what it would look like.


	15. Chapter 15: When Complications Arise

**AN: Oh man, do I have a treat for you! This originally wasn't that long a chapter, and I was already building to the end. Then I sat down and thought. And suddenly, a whole unresolved storyline popped up in my head. And now I wrote in into the story. Last minute. I checked my mail today at school and saw that I had 2 more people who added this to Story Alert and 2 more reviews. I think that if the room would have been dark, I would have lit up the room better than a light bulb. If you're reading this, and you've got something to say on this story, or even if you don't but just feel the need to thank me/yell at me/tell me I must be the weirdest 16-year old you've ever read something of, please, do. I do hope like this storyline. Let me know by the classic read and review! :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Glee (hahah, rhyme away Iris!), if I would, in April Glee would pick up at Chapter 3 of this story, and I'm afraid it won't.**

* * *

**When Complications Arise**

Quinn walked in. Home again. It was good to be back, nobody likes hospitals, and she felt a smile spread across her face when the familiar scent of cinnamon worked it's way up her nose. She'd missed that. It was very late for the otherwise punctual Berry family, but Quinn's returning home called for a celebration and they hadn't eaten yet. Now he had an excuse, no-one would be able to stop Jim from making Lasagna. Sam had gone to help him, and Rachel... Rachel had been in a strange mood all day long. Way too quiet, but not distant, since she kept making sure she as touch Quinn all the time. Quinn had decided on giving her a minute, before she'd go up there and ask what was up. She decided on checking her email, deleting all of the spam that had accumulated during her stay in the hospital, writing "thank you" mails to all the "get well soon" messages and replying to all the mails from the Gleeks. It was her turn to pick the next song they'd sing. After that, she turned off her computer and started reading. She closed her book 6 minutes later, because of the music she heard. Someone was playing the piano, and Quinn recognized the notes from How To Save A Life by The Fray. She walked to the gym - for some unclear reason, the piano's was placed in the corner of the gym - and opened the door. The room was dark, except for 2 lit candles that were standing on the piano. Rachel was leaning over the piano, still playing the sad song. It took Quinn a minute to see the silent tears streaming from Rachel's eyes in this flickering light. She felt like a brick just fell into her stomach. She wasn't used to Rachel crying. She was usually the one crying, with Rachel comforting her. She took a few long strides, and grabbed one of Rachel's hands with both her hands, ending the song.

"Rachel, what's the matter?" she asked in an urgent and concerned voice.

Rachel was already wiping her tears away with her free hand. In a voice that cracked, she replied:

"Nothing. It's nothing. You weren't supposed to hear me," The tears still were flowing, and Quinn's heart ached for her girlfriend. She turned Rachel's face toward hers, looking into her eyes, waiting, saying nothing yet, as Rachel fought to get a little control over her tear ducts. She sniffed.

"I'm sorry you're here to witness this. You shouldn't have to see me like this."  
"Don't be sorry, you can't always be the stronger one, Rach. I know you want to be, but you can't."  
"When I saw you lying there, Quinn... You were bleeding, you weren't conscious, and you were so pale. For a moment, I was sure that you weren't going to make it, that I was going to lose you, if I hadn't already. If that were the case... I don't know what I would have done."  
"Don't think like that! I'm perfectly healthy, aren't I?"  
"You should have seen yourself. Swear that you won't _ever _scare me like that. I'm not sure if I could handle that."  
"Shush, I won't, I'm fine, as are you, and that's how things will stay." She said in a soothing voice. Rachel was trembling, and Quinn pulled her in a tight hug. Rachel's fingers dug into her shoulders as she felt the brunette clutching to her, burying her face in Quinn's neck, her breaths were audible. Quinn stroked her softly, but Rachel didn't really calm down. She kissed Quinn desperately, with a desire that seemed almost painful. Quinn felt her need. Not want. Need.

"Quinn, I need you. I do. Now. My need for you is acute to the point of pain."  
"Then stop talking," Quinn inserted.

They made love by the piano, nothing but candles lighting up their world.

* * *

That night, at family dinner, the mood was exceptionally good, even for the Berry household. Making love to Rachel for the first time since the accident had calmed Rachel down and transformed her back into the normal Rachel. They talked, catching up on the trivial things that Quinn had missed that she didn't know about yet. It was a relief to be treated like a normal person again, not some breakable, fragile porcelain doll. And it was great to be back, just eating Jim's lasagna, knowing what to expect of the evening. It had already been decided, tonight's program contained sitting outside, playing a serious game of Monopoly - a true battle royal, no doubt - and concluding the night with a Gene Kelly movie, An American In Paris. A night filled with love and fun, things she'd try not to take for granted as long as was possible. Although, of course, the real conclusion to the night would not arrive until she fell asleep with Rachel's arms wrapped around her. A luxury she probably would never get used to. It was just too good for that.

The phone rang.

Have you ever had such a clear moment, that you looked at the phone and knew that the conversation that was going to take place would change everything again? That was the kind of moment Quinn was having now. She wanted to say to Sam that he shouldn't pick up the phone, but she knew that was crazy. So Sam wiped his hands clean with a napkin, stood up and picked up the phone.

"Samuel Berry."

He frowned, and his eyes immediately shot to Quinn. Then to Rachel. Then back to Quinn. She felt Rachel move uncomfortably beside her.

"Yes, she is." It was about her, the way Sam was looking at her, it had to be. Sam remained quiet for a while, before saying:

"Just a second, I'll ask her."  
He held his palm over the talking-piece of the phone.

"Quinn, it's your mother. She wants to talk to you."

Her mind started out, very helpful, by going completely blank. She shook her head, trying to get the blankness out of it.

Somehow, it helped. She thought as lucidly as she could, trying to step away from her emotions.

She needed time. She couldn't talk to her mother. Not yet. She needed time, and she didn't want to do this over the phone.

She shook her head at Sam, and formed the word "no" with her mound.

"I'm very sorry, but I'm afraid she doesn't want to talk to you right now."

He remained silent for a moment, before nodding his head.

"Hang on please, Mrs. Fabray. Quinn, your parents want to see you."

"Tomorrow." She said in a quiet tone.

"Alright. Mrs. Fabray, how would you and your husband like it to come over to our house tomorrow night. We could try to talk this situation through."

"Alright, I will see you tomorrow at 8 then. Yes, you too."  
He hung up.

"Quinn, your parents are coming here tomorrow to meet with you. They found out through Mr. Shue about your miscarriage just today, he contacted them, and he was the one who told them that you've been staying here."

"What do they want?"  
"I'm not sure, but my guess is that now the pregnancy thing has been... solved, they want to convince you to come back."

"Solved, right." Quinn scoffed, but the hurt was still present in her eyes.

"So, I should... probably... go back, right?" She couldn't say home. It would have felt like a lie.

"What!?" Rachel said, her chocolate eyes growing wide like Bambi's. For a second she looked as innocent as the dear as well.

"You're more than welcome if you'd wish to stay, Quinn, you really should know that. You've become part of this family, and family is always welcome. It's a pleasure having you in our home, and I'm positive it will remain a pleasure to have you if you should decide to stay. Personally, I've been starting to see you more as a daughter than anything else, and I know that the same goes for Sam," Jim assured her, touching her with his words.

"That's true, Quinn, I'd love to have you stay here. But we won't pressure you, and neither will Rachel." His eyes shot a warning glare that matched the authority in his voice. "This is a choice that you really should make by yourself. We'd be more than understanding if you'd want to return home, they are your parents after all. As for now, I believe we should continue the evening as we originally had planned. Quinn, if you feel the need for a little rest around you so you can think in quiet, you can also go upstairs."  
"No thanks, I'd rather stay. I'll get a chance to think tonight or whenever."

"Alright then." Sam smiled, and the mood lightened up a little. But even though Quinn saw her attempts to hide it, she felt Rachel's fear that this wasn't a "welcome back" night but a "goodbye" night. The veil of fear with a possible goodbye was thin, and they all played happily and laughed loudly. But it was there nonetheless.

* * *

When she went upstairs, Quinn locked herself up in her room. Her usual routine when she really needed to think in peace. She didn't get her peace, her thoughts were raving through her mind. She got herself some tea, and decided to try to picture the situation. What if she would?

She'd go back... home. It was what everyone expected her to do, it was where she was supposed to belong, and everyone would probably say that is was the right thing to do. She'd still see Rachel at school, and they could still date, although her parents probably wouldn't accept Rachel as her girlfriend. Just as a girl and as a friend. They didn't know, and Quinn had no illusions about them understanding her newfound sexuality. She had been missing them less and less, but was mostly unsure of what the impact of tomorrow would be. When she'd see them again, what would she feel? So many options. Would she just run to her daddy and cry, or would she be breathing fire because they abandoned her in her time of need? As for now, she tried to make a decision, but found it hard without knowing what impact tomorrow was going to have on her. When she thought of it, calm and theocratically speaking, she knew she had never been this happy when she was still living with her parents. This lifestyle, open and free to be whoever she wished to be, fitted her like a glove. But she remained doubtful. In the worst case, she wouldn't have a choice. She knew that, since she was only 16, her parents probably owned or legally and could force her to come home. She knew her father was capable of doing that if he wanted to. But her mother knew her, she knew that if they weren't going to give her a choice, she would fight for one. Her parents probably thought everything could turn back the way it was, but that wasn't the case. Part of her hoped. Maybe they had grown to understand her, and decided to let her be her, a Gleek in love with a girl instead of a Cheerio with a quarterback as boyfriend. A girl that makes mistakes, but that does face them. Not waiting until everything clogs up and only to pray it will disappear. Maybe they now got it. Maybe now they would embrace the real Quinn like Quinn herself finally had. Maybe she could go back to a different home, that had changed along with her. Maybe she would be forced to come back to a home that hadn't changed at all.

She went to Rachel. If this might be her last night here, she'd better make the best of it. Rachel was lying on her bed and staring at her ceiling - probably the only piece of her room that wasn't painted in a screaming, bright color - with her arms behind her head and a dead look on her face. Quinn positioned herself under Rachel's right arm, which closed around her like a peddle of some tropical flower.  
"I know he's right. Daddy doesn't say things like that for nothing. He's right. It's your choice, and I won't tell you what to do, or ask something unreasonable of you. I believe you are aware of what I want. I won't ask you right now either. I'll find out tomorrow, I promise that I won't interfere. Unless I deem it absolutely necessary of course"  
"Naturally," Quinn said, enjoying the familiarity of the situation. No arms had ever felt as good wrapped around her as Rachel's. She turned her head upwards - it was strange to look up to Rachel - and saw that her eyes were no longer dead. They had returned to their familiar dark brown color again.

She pressed a kiss to Rachel's lips, Rachel looked down and pressed a kiss to Quinn's.

As Quinn rolled on top of Rachel, they began to make love for the second time around that day, minds far off any goodbyes that may or may not come.


	16. Chapter 16: Home Is Where The Heart Is

**AN: So yeah. The talk with her parents. I don't know if you're going to like it. I don't even know yet if I do myself. I really didn't think I would be able to finish it today, it's a miracle that I did. Really. It's 10 PM here. I really wanted to finish it after a while. You know that drive you get into? Now you just HAVE to finish it, and it can't wait? But anyway, here it is. Please, do comment. It really helps, today I was about to skip a day, thinking "well, I can write now, but I can also write tomorrow, doesn't really matter.". Then I read a couple of those kickass reviews some of you wrote, and I immediately felt otherwise. I had the first part written down already, I typed it out, and then when inspiration knocked on my door, I answered, welcoming it with a nice cup of hot chocolate in this cold cold weather. As you see, reviews are THE BEST! Reviews are dangerously addictive, as it turns out. Fo sho, if that's how you write for sure gangster-style. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Review? :)**

**Disclaimer: If I would own Glee, do you really think there would be something as idiotic as a hiatus? Let me spoil that one. There wouldn't be.**

Quinn was glad when it was 8 o' clock. Her nerves had been building all day long. She was going to see her parents today. For the first time in 5 months, she would talk the her father and her mother. She had already used her chapstick 14 times that day - oh, the joy of being a fervent lip biter - and Rachel was still counting. Her mind was made up about one thing, at least. She would be brutally honest tonight, absolutely merciless. No more hiding herself. She was a new Quinn, and would rub her real self under their noses.

The bell rang at the last strike of 8. Punctual as always. She was still up in her room, legs crossed on her bed. She was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved white t-shirt and - the horror! - a pair of sneakers. 2 braids in her further loose hanging hair, meeting at the back of her head. She would wait until her parents were comfortable before joining the party downstairs.

"Quinn, there here, honey!" Jim called up.

"I'll be down in a minute!"

For the Glee song she could choose, she had chosen Breathless by The Corrs. She loved that song when she was a kid, it was a hit when her sister started listening to music, and she'd picked it up back then. She was sure that it was a song that would sound really good when it was Glee-ified. She mailed her resolve, along with the song and the lyrics to her fellow Gleeks, then took a couple of deep breaths and walked downstairs.

There, she saw Rachel, wearing her friendliest smile. She obviously had her mind set on charming Quinn's parents. Jim and Sam were sitting there as well. And... she looked to the right. There was something surreal about her parents in the soft seats of the Berries. Maybe it was just Quinn's imagination, but they really looked out of place. She had been expecting a wave of emotion to hit her, but nothing came. She felt empty. Not like there was nothing, but like something was lacking.

"Hello, Quinn," her father said in a calm tone. Her mother was staring at her, obviously taking in the changes. Quinn went to sit by Rachel, who grabbed her hand but kept it out of sight. Their joined hands spoke of courage in Quinn's mind.

"How long has she stayed here?" Her father asked Sam.

"4 months. The first month, I stayed with Finn. Then, just before the holidays, he discovered that the child wasn't his. I've never actually had sex with him. It was his best friend's baby. You know, Noah Puckerman."

Rachel's eyes grew big, as did her mother's. Her father's eyes however, narrowed.

"What did you do next? How did you and up here?"  
"Rachel offered, because her pure heart felt the need to help. Once I got here, we became friends. After that, I fell in love with her."  
She put their joined hands up front, very visible for her parents. Rachel was about to back off, but Quinn held her hand in a tight grip. Jim's worried eyes fixed on Quinn, trying to tell her that she should take things slow. Quinn got his message. She just ignored it. Brutally honest. That was the way.

"You're... gay?" Her father asked.

"Gay, bisexual, I don't care, all I know is that I'm in love with Rachel."  
"Honey, that's very normal. People adjust to their surroundings. You've been staying with these kind people for some time, so it's normal that you start to... adjust to them and their lifestyle. It's the way humans behave." Her mother had spoken at last. Denial. Quinn wasn't really surprised.

"It's not that. I'm in love with Rachel. I've been falling for her for a long time. Is it really that hard to believe? She's good and kind, pure, talented with the most amazing voice that sends quivers down your spine. And look at her, she's beautiful!" Quinn's natural teenage behaviour, resistance, was starting to rear it's head.

Her mother looked uncomfortable. Her father said what he came her to say.

"Quinn, I'm going to be very straight up with you. We came to take you home. We want you to live with us, at least until you finish High School. We're still your parents."  
A question came into Quinn's mind.

"What would you have done if I would have had my baby? The miscarriage wasn't meant to happen."  
"Of course it was. God decides that, and he never meant you to have a child at 16."  
"But you didn't know that. Would you have come here anyway if there'd be a little girl in the picture?"  
"I don't know, we hadn't talked about it, and now there is no need for it anyway. You miscarried. It's beside the point."  
"How could it be beside the point!" She hadn't really meant to raise her voice, and immediately took a deep breath to calm down.

"Dad. If you would have left me hanging after giving birth, that means that nothing has changed with you. And that's the key problem here. Because I have changed. I've grown up more, and learned more, and I've been growing up lately in a way that I know you didn't want me to. If my choice is going back to the way it's always been or living this new life I've been given... maybe I don't want to come home."  
"Quinn, you're talking crazy. Of course you're gonna come home. You're our little girl!"

"But I'm not! How much will it take for you to realize that? I'm different now. I don't want to go back to cheerleading. Or to the way mum talks to me when she thinks I'm gaining weight. I don't want to rely on prayers only when something goes wrong. And I don't want to date some idiotic Lima loser."

"You're only 16, Quinn. Sometimes you have to rely on the fact that there are people older and wiser than you, and sometimes they know better what's good for you than you do."  
"So, suppressing who I want to be, that's the best way?"  
"Suppressing things that you will otherwise surely regret in a later lifetime, yes."

"You can't change me back."  
"Quinn, we won't try to change you back. You're a teenager. Puberty is a confusing time, and you're gonna change your mind a lot in years to come. You will change."

"But not back. I'm gonna move forward. And if you're not going to change with me, I don't think I belong with you anymore. I've been questioning it for a while now."

"You do belong with us. A child belongs with it's parents. You belong at home, with your family."

"And parents are supposed to be with their children, for love and support? What happened then, to change me back, from a stranger to your daughter? Do you think I have forgotten your words, dad? You said you didn't know who I was. You told your daughter that you didn't recognize her. That does a pretty good job at alienating someone, don't you think? Apparently, I'm not the only one that still changes her mind. You changed your mind about having me as a daughter!"

The emotions were bubbling up inside of her as the words tumbled out of her mouth, the all but forgotten hurt of those words stinging her heart. Her father was silent.

"Quinn, honey, it was hard for us too, you dropping such a bomb on you. And I'm sure your daddy regrets how he spoke to you that day, he said things that no father should say to his daughter. We just want you to come home."

Oh, now they wanted her home again.  
"It took you 5 months. You could have contacted me any given day, you'd always find me at school, you could have called Mr. Shue, but you left me to take care of myself. I needed you then. Now, things are back to normal and you all of the sudden I should come home?"  
"Things aren't normal until you complete our family again, by returning to your rightful place."

"Will you allow me to continue Glee, not to return to the Cheerio's, and most importantly to keep on dating Rachel?"

"You shouldn't be so hard on your old life, Quinn. Life has placed it's blessings upon you. You grew up in a loving home, with lots of friends, you've never been bullied until you chose to join Glee. You were living a great life, but then you had sex on a whim, and that sin has been creeping into every piece of your life ever since. But you can start over. You can resume the life that was meant for you. You can come home. You know it's the right thing to do. We have custody over you, we want to look out for you."  
"Dad, I know what you're thinking. If you're gonna make me come home, I'm going to make you wish you hadn't. No matter what you do, you can't turn back the clock. Not after 5 months. Your words don't change a thing. You abandoned me in my time of need. Now you have to deal with the consequences of your actions, as I had to face mine before. Only fair, don't you think? And these are the consequences. Not pregnant, but in love with a girl, reading at night and playing the piano again. Not the girl you imagined, but this is me now."

Sam picked this moment to intervene. Things weren't going a good way. Quinn was getting upset, tears of rage and hurt filling her eyes. Her father didn't seem ready to accept his daughter's words.

"Mr. Fabray, Quinn, it seems that we have a sort of... impasse here. Please. Mr. Fabray, are you willing to adjust to Quinn's newly discovered self?"  
He snorted. Oh god. He was going to get rude. He always had a thing against gay people. And although Sam was a smart and calm man, she knew it wouldn't matter now.

"Mr. Berry, I do not believe that this really is any of your business. This is a conversation between me and my daughter. I thank you very much for helping her over the last months, but this is the point where I take over again."  
"Not if Quinn doesn't want you to!" Rachel had opened her mouth, and now turned to Quinn, and smiled at her. "That was necessary."

Quinn couldn't help but smile back at that moment.

"She wants us to, we're her parents."  
"Why don't you ask her?" Rachel asked boldly.

"Quinn, do you want to go home?" Her father asked.

This was what it all came down to. Quinn didn't remember making a conscious decision, but from the moment this conversation had begun, it had been building up to this climax. And Quinn had talked with only one real option in mind. She knew where her heart lied, and she knew that she couldn't be happy if she didn't follow that.

"Quinn? I asked you something. Are you ready? Do you want to go home?"  
"I already am," Quinn replied. She knew her face was beaming when she spoke the redeeming words of truth, and could only laugh when Rachel threw her arms around her in ecstasy.


	17. Chapter 17: Together, Forever

**AN: WARNING! DANGER! Somewhere here, you're gonna see an italian printed piece of text. This, is another smut scene. I know what I promised. Just one smut scene. But I... I... I had to. And I have some very bad news. This will be the final official chapter. Tomorrow, I will put on the epilogue and then declare the story completed. I already feel sad inside at the thought, this fic has reigned my thoughts for 3 weeks. Every comment and review is greatly, GREATLY appreciated. They make my days. My Quinn-Rachel obsession has yet to fade, so I might upload another story on them somewhere along the line. This is addictive. I do hope that you have enjoyed the story even half as much as I enjoyed writing it. And if you want to make my wildest dreams come true, tweet this to Dianna Agron or Lea Michele. I know, I know, but imagination has no limits and neither do my dreams, and my wildest dream would be some sort of comment from either of them. Like I said, dare to dream. So, things are all finishing and closing up now, I hope I left nothing unresolved (like I almost did with Quinn's parents!) and that you are satisfied with what you've read. Tomorrow the epilogue - I'm not planning on making it long. Probably not much longer then the introduction was - and after that, it's gonna have Complete after it. If I figure out the right button to press ;) Reviews truly are the best gift a writer could get. So, please? Pretty please? Pretty pretty pretty please? :)**

Anyone who takes the time to tweet this to Lea Michele or Dianna Agron should already be a national hero in my mind. If I could give you a prize for it, like, best reader ever, I would.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. But just wait. (like I said: dare to dream big!)  


* * *

**"And, well, really, that's about it." Rachel said, and smiled, like they could all now just continue on. Like that would happen. Quinn felt awkward, which wasn't that weird because standing in front of a crowd was never fun when you were the object of discussion. Not with these things. She looked from Artie and the left to Mr. Shue, standing on the right. It was Monday, and Quinn and Rachel had gone to school as a real couple. Most of the Gleeks had pieced things together by now, and they were the only ones that really mattered. Somehow though, Rachel had convinced her that an official coming-out speech was absolutely necessary for those who didn't know yet and just to get it all out there. That was how Quinn had ended up here, holding her hand during Glee rehearsal, standing up in front of the group. It was _not_ necessary, Quinn now thought. Why bother? We're in a High School. Knowledge is power. And the knowledge that matters is not the kind that you pick up in class. Nothing spread faster than a rumor like this. Although, some did seem a little surprised. Like Mr. Shue. Rachel had just explained their story, becoming friends, falling in love, kissing and now this.

"So, you girls are like, in love? Girl-girl love?"  
"Yes, Mercedes. We are. It's really easy to fall in love with this girl, let me tell you!"

Quinn was blushing, but added: "And sorry we didn't tell you sooner. We wanted to be sure. And thanks to Kurt and Finn for keeping it to themselves."  
"You knew about this!?" Mercedes turned around, and Quinn laughed.

Mr. Shue stepped forward, and said: "Thank you very much, Rachel and Quinn, for sharing this news. It's wonderful to hear. Now, let's give your song a shot, Quinn!"

As they sung Breathless, Quinn got what the others must have felt like when they took Vitamin D. The energy was astounding and they blasted the pop-song out of their throats, Glee-style.

After rehearsal, while everyone was packing up, Puck walked up to them, and wiggled his eyebrows slightly.

"Changed your minds about the threesome?"  
"Sorry Puck."  
"But the guns, baby! The guns!"

"We know you're proud of your arms, but I need only Quinn to enjoy myself, thank you very much."  
"Alright, how 'bout a kiss then?"  
"What?" Quinn replied.  
"You can't leave a guy hanging like this. Would you be so cruel?"  
They had attracted the attention of the others now, but Rachel hadn't noticed.

"Alright, give me one good reason."  
"Because you gotta give me something."  
"A better one."  
Puck thought, before saying: "Because you know you really want to kiss her right now. You'd be doing yourselves a favor."

"That's true!" Rachel smiled widely, and then before Quinn had the time to even do a thing such as blink, Rachel had locked her lips to Quinn's, using all of her strength to push herself as close to Quinn as their bodies would allow. Now that Quinn's stomach was back to it's old flat self, that was really close. Quinn never had been one for PDA's, but is she threw her arms around Rachel's neck, tangling her left hand in Rachel's hair, she found herself to absorbed to care about anything else but her lips touching Rachel's.  


* * *

"I hope you guys aren't tired of me yet," Quinn said with a small grin. "Looks like I might stick around for a little while."  
"Not yet,"  
"Me neither, give me a day or 2."  
"Not ever." Rachel smiled warmly at her. "You're here to stay."

Her voice left no room for doubts or arguments. No-one could have said no to that statement, and Quinn found herself more than a little happy that the decision was out of the way, and that Quinn really was here to stay. Rachel's arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, and she shook her head.

"I just can't believe it. This is my life. It feels like it's someone else's life, although it fits me like a glove."

"I know what you mean. Things have been like a vacation or a dream ever since you came here. And now, things are going to remain that way!"

"Well Quinn, we are delighted to have you." Jim announced.

She had decided to stay in touch with her parents. But no way that living together was going to work out. She would have dinner with them once a week, and just let them know what was going on in her life. But she would stay at the place that felt like her home the most.

Life was a whirlwind. She was never too far away from Rachel, which could have made every life bearable. They were hanging out of Quinn's window one night, looking at the magical night sky, when Quinn broke the silence. "You know, what we have here is special, Rach. Love without hurdles, nothing to keep us apart. No boundaries. Only each other. If life could stay like this forever, I would die a happy person."

"Maybe you'll get bored. It's only been a few months."  
"Has it really? Has it not been a lifetime already?"  
"For you and me maybe it has. But the rest of the world kept on turning, and only 4 months have passed. It's for months to the day you kissed me."

"You mean, you kissed me. You can't really call that hesitant brushing of lips a kiss. Especially not with what you've got to compare it to now."

"It was not our most passionate kiss, nor our most heated one, but it definitely was a kiss. Your lips touched mine. It was sweet, soft, and so light that it was barely noticeable. But you most definitely kissed me."  
"And then you came, wrapping your arms around me and showing me how it should be done." Quinn's eyes glistened with enjoyment thinking of the memory.

"I had waited long enough, I wanted some too, you must understand."  
"I think I do. Things were different back then. Really different."  
"Just before the kiss, I was telling you what the year would look like. Was I wrong or what?"  
"I was pregnant and unsure about pretty much everything. And you were still a virgin."  
"Already head over heals, though. Can't believe you didn't find out about it too soon. I thought that Keep Holding On or something would have given it all away. It's been a long time since I had no trouble taking my eyes of you."  
"But you probably had no idea that this day would come, right? You and me, us, together like this."  
"Hopefully for a very long time,"

* * *

_As Rachel leaned in, her mind went black when the familiar passion kicked into gear. She placed her hand on Rachel's delicate face, stopping the kiss so she could look at the girl that was hers. The dark brown eyes - darker than ever - gazed into hers longingly, and she felt a hand sliding up and down her back. Rachel leaned forward, and Quinn got ready for another kiss. Instead, Rachel's other hand guided Quinn's head a little to the side so she had access to Quinn's neck. When she went up and bit her earlobe, Quinn felt herself losing control. She was nearly trembling with excitement while she undid the buttons of Rachel's blouse, before locking Rachel's arms behind her and letting the shirt slide off to the ground. She let her hands slide along Rachel's sides, and Rachel closed her eyes, breathing deeply in and out under Quinn's light touch. When she let her hands rest on Rachel's hips, she pulled her closer for another kiss. Rachel pulled back way too soon, tugging Quinn's shirt. Quinn held her arms up, and Rachel freed her of the shirt in one fluid motion - the way you usually only see in movies - before it joined Rachel's blouse on the floor. Then she took Quinn in a tight embrace again, kissing her lovingly with longing in her movement, letting her hands fall to the down of Quinn's back, right above the waistline of her jeans. Quinn let her forehead rest against Rachel's, feeling the turn on of Rachel's breaths - already coming through her mouth - against her face. Rachel's hands were wandering a little more downwards. Quinn let her hands slide down to the end of Rachel's skirt - short as usual - and let one hand sliding under it, letting it wander along her thigh. Rachel kissed her, not long and passionate, but she gave her many small kisses. Body to body, there wasn't much nudging necessary to get Rachel to sit down on Quinn's chair, while Quinn straddled her with an evil smile._

_"What's with the grin, Miss Evil?"  
"It's the straddling. It feels good. I'm in charge of you now."_

_"We'll see about that."  
But Quinn bended over and pressed her body against Rachel's, kissing her pulse point. Rachel didn't seem to even consider protesting, closed her eyes and let out a sigh, while Quinn worked away around her to unclasp her bra. She led one of her hands to Rachel's knee, before sliding it up her leg in an excruciating slow tempo. _

_Rachel stopped her, and looked at her with fire in her eyes. She got rid of Quinn's bra and let her hands slide along Quinn's breasts, lingering enough by her nipples to make Quinn shudder. Quinn continued her path along Rachel's leg, and since Rachel spread her legs she was probably all too willing. She let her head roll back and lean against the chair when Quinn let a finger slide through the wetness between those legs, grinning when Rachel let out a moan. After she'd removed the panties, she drove her fingers without a warning into the girl. Rachel gasped and Quinn could feel her tensing, legs suddenly cramped. Rachel started fumbling with the fly of her jeans, and after tugging on them Quinn could kick them off. Rachel didn't even care for removing panties but pushed them aside and let a finger slide in, spreading the wetness. When she started moving inside of Quinn, Quinn let her head rest against Rachel's and picked up her pace. She started panting, and her head slid off to Rachel's shoulder. Pressing small kisses onto Rachel's shoulders, she felt Rachel almost lost it right at that moment. Rachel added 2 fingers moving inside of Quinn, and Quinn's heart went into a frenzy. Moaning Rachel's name, she felt Rachel's hot breaths against her ear. She felt the orgasm build in the pit of her stomach, and knew from Rachel's tensing up that she must be close as well. When Rachel moaned Quinn's name loudly, she felt the walls clamming her fingers and her insides exploded as well. She was about to pull back her fingers, but Rachel didn't stop so neither did she. It didn't take long for their second orgasm to begin, and when they both pulled their fingers out of each other, Quinn let herself fall onto Rachel, completely worn out._

* * *

Quinn stood up and led them both to her bed, where she positioned herself against Rachel - touching as much as possible again, as usual - and felt herself comfortable and relaxed. Rachel's face was turned towards her, and they looked at each other for a long time.

"Will you grow tired of me soon?" Rachel asked her.

"Not likely. You're not the kind of person that gets boring after a while."  
"Thank you, neither are you."  
"Strange, I'd never thought we'd fit together so perfectly, but it's like 2 puzzle pieces falling in place."  
"It's like all the pieces just fall into place whenever we're together. That's part of why I love you, Quinn. I can't imagine being with anybody else. We belong together."

"I love you, too. We belong together. At least tonight, but I think that it could also be forever."

Rachel nodded. "Forever doesn't sound too bad."

Quinn's heart fluttered at the thought of a life with Rachel, and when Rachel kissed her, she could imagine it. Life would be perfect. Her and Rachel. Together, forever.


	18. Chapter 18: Epilogue

**Yes, this is the end. The epilogue. I'm sad that it's over. My first fanfic, and now it's done. It was my debut, an experiment, and I really loved writing this fic, letting it develop into what it is now. I really like Quinn/Rachel, and I've become addicted to writing ever day (it's really good for me, and it helps driving away the insanity of having to miss Glee for 3 more months, I have to get my Glee-doses somehow!) so I may start another fic. Maybe even based on this one. But that's a big, big maybe. I really hope you liked reading this. If you made it to the end, congratulations, you've just read over 30000 words. Evey word of what you thought of this is more than welcome. Enjoy this really short epilogue, and don't forget to please please leave a comment :)**

Disclaimer: Not even now I own Glee or anything I refer to. I know. It's insane. But true.

* * *

**Epilogue**

_15 years later_

Quinn Fabray was standing in the Auditorium once again, letting her fingers slide over the piano keys, wiping away the dust. She smiled at the memories, walking in on her enemy Rachel Berry practicing so many years ago right at this very piano. That had probably been the turning point, speaking in a friendly manner to Rachel. It was so strange, walking through the halls of her old High School. She saw the past happening again with her eyes open, almost Scrooge-style she saw herself walking between Brittany and Santana through the halls. She saw Mr. Shue standing a few feet away from the piano, and felt like the warmth of a Glee practice surrounded her again. A 17-year old Finn Hudson appeared before her mind's eye, watching him play football. Sitting beside him while everyone sung Lean On Me to them. It wouldn't be long now, the reunion would start in 20 minutes. She had taken it upon herself to come early for exactly this reason. To enjoy the memories and relive the emotions in private. She felt the emotions making her heart swell. It was good to know that after all that had happened, she now still looked back at High School as a happy time. Careless. Footsteps caught her attention, and she turned around. A smile spread across her face.

"Rach," she said, "Remember?" She gestured widely at the room they were standing in, not referring to anything in particular.

"Of course. I remember everything."

"God, a lot has happened since we were kids!"

"So much, I almost can't believe it. But it was good whenever we were together."  
"Which was most of the time."  
"If not always."

They'd both carried a child by now. Although they did not share any blood, Maddie and Caroline were sisters nonetheless. Rachel had gone onto Broadway, of course, breaking through with her role in Wicked. Quinn had tried several things before finally finding her passion in acting. After High School, they both had spread their wings, not becoming just another Lima loser. Glee club had reunions regularly, and many among them had remained friends over the years. Though no reunion had yet been like this, because this time around it was a reunion of their whole class. The people who had once thrown slushies in their faces and humiliated them. Most of them had stayed in Lima, and Quinn felt said for their fates. None of them had probably expected Rachel and Quinn to stay together like they had, turning out to be true soulmates if such a thing would exist. Along the years, Rachel had remained her best friend and although they both changed, they grew together instead of apart. For Quinn, Rachel still was the most amazing person she had ever met in her life. Next year, they would be together for officially half of their lives, and she knew that there were many more years to come.

As she pulled Rachel close and leaned in to steal a kiss, she heard the doors of McKinley High open once again.

**THE END**


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